Ever have those days where you want to write but you spend it watching the cursor blink?

That was me over the past month.

School is winding down and I've finished all my projects and required readings. All I have left is to close out my client cases and finals. Being a grad student is sooo fun. So I hope to have more time to write the next chapter. Especially the week of Thanksgiving.

Man, I can't wait for a break from school.

So I hope this chapter is worth the wait. I appreciate you guys sticking with me while I have a crazy posting schedule. You guys deserve all the chocolate and Ranger lovin' in the world!

Not mine, but how I wish I had thought of it first...

Present Day- Stephanie's POV

"Did you know that he took the hit out on you?" Agent Morrisey asked me. "Did you know that Bobby Morales took a hit out on you?"

I didn't respond. I wasn't going to get anyone in trouble. The FBI didn't have anything and I wasn't going to give them whatever they feel they were owed.

"Come on, Ms. Plum. That's a simple question."

I could feel the eyes on me from behind the glass. They were circling me like vultures, waiting for the other shoe to drop. But it wasn't going to. They didn't have anything on Ranger and I wasn't going to give it to them.

He sighed and sat back. "Your loyalty is commendable, Ms. Plum. Really." He added when I gave him a raised eyebrow. "Most criminals crack by now."

I just smirked. He just took my response in.

"The problem is, Ms. Plum. That your loyalty may be misplaced." He leaned over and pulled out a laptop. He plugged in a USB and hit a few keys.

"Bobby." There was some muffled patting. Ranger.

"I have a job for you." There was a pause. "I need you to kill Stephanie Plum."

Another pause. "Done."

Agent Morrisey looked at me. "Did you know that Ranger took the contract?"

I blinked at him, surprised. "What?"

There was a sparkle in his eye. He cornered me and was proud about it.

And now I had to choose. Fight or flee.

Ranger's POV- A few weeks earlier…

"Are you fucking nuts?" Tank bellowed at me. I had just gotten back to the office after the debriefing at the local precinct.

I didn't respond and kept walking towards my office. Sure enough, Tank followed.

"You want to help this girl, take her in and get closer to her even though you know she has a boyfriend and now… now this."

I felt my hackles rise. "Fuck you."

That took him aback. "What?"

"I said, fuck. You."

Tank grabbed my shirt and pushed me into the wall. Thank god we were in my office with the door closed. There are few men I would allow to push me around like this, but I didn't want the other men to get any ideas. "Listen to me you son of a bitch…"

"No, you listen. You actually think my loyalties would switch that fast?"

"When you want to protect yourself, hell yeah."

I shoved Tank off of me. "Now who's the son of a bitch? Do you really think that if I had said no, Bobby would've let it go? He would've thought, 'shit this guy won't do it so it must not be worth it?' Fuck no. He would've gotten someone bigger and badder to go after her. Who would've taken pleasure in killing her. Slowly. Deliberately. After all we've seen together in the Rangers, do you honestly fucking think I'd let her suffer that fate?"

This made Tank pause. "Shit, Ranger."

"I'm an asshole, but not that big of an asshole." I replied, straightening my shirt.

"We all heard the tape and…"

"Drew the obvious conclusion. I hope that you don't do that in the field otherwise we'll have to reevaluate your fieldwork and stick you at a desk."

Tank paled. I smirked internally. No one hated the desk more than Tank did.

But now we had a bigger problem at hand. Bobby was out to get Stephanie.

"What are you going to do?" Tank asked me.

I tapped on my phone and let it ring. "Babe?"

"Don't call me that."

I smiled. "We need to meet."

"I'll go pretty up."

Stephanie's POV

We met in the same café as our last meeting. Ranger had again beaten me there and was sitting with his back to the wall.

"Try not to scare the waitress too much this time okay?" I said as I sat at the table. Ranger thought about smiling.

"What's up?"

"We need to talk."

The waitress came over and took our order. Ranger got some leafy salad that didn't sound at all appetizing and I got a cheeseburger with fries and a chocolate milkshake. "And a piece of the pie."

"What flavor?"

"Surprise me."

The waitress gave Ranger a raised eyebrow, but left.

"Where are you planning to put all that, Babe?"

"Wherever it wants to go."

"That stuff will kill you."

"We all die anyway."

That seemed to make him pause for a second. He blinked at me for a second and then nodded. "We got a problem." He stated.

I took a deep breath. Here it came. He was going to blow me off. "Look," I started. "I know I'm not that experienced…"

"Babe."

"And I'm sure I can't handle myself as well as your guys but I…"

"Babe." He was grinning now. He stopped as our waitress dropped by with our food. I squeezed out ketchup for my fries and waited.

And then Ranger explained. He wasn't trying to butt me out. He told me that Bobby had given him the hit out on me.

"What happened to the other guy?"

"Best idea is that someone else hired him and Bobby doesn't want to be upstaged."

I nodded. Things just got more complicated. "So where do we go from here?"

"Right now, I think the best option is to keep you out of my building."

"Afraid someone's going to blow it up?" I asked with a snarky tone .

He glared at me. "To draw the guy out. Do you want to live in fear?"

"No."

"You're still being watched by the guys." He smirked again. "The guys appreciate the donuts but try not to feed them too much. It makes them lazy."

"They said no at first, but I wore them down with my charms."

Ranger's face flickered for a moment. If I didn't know any better, I'd say it was… jealousy.

Interesting…

"So we'll increase your security. Also, you'll meet with one of the guys to go over any new information."

"I won't be meeting with you anymore?"

"I'll be there sometimes. We need to rotate it to throw people off your trail."

"And yours. You're still undercover."

He nodded.

"Okay. Will I ever come to your office to get work done?"

"For now, no. There will be a time that you'll have to come in, but right now, it's a last resort."

I agreed. The less people are involved, the less damage I could cause. With this price, I was a ticking time bomb. Before it was scary, but the more I dig, the more people are going to come after me.

Over the next couple of weeks, I met a few of Ranger's men. They treated me like one of the team and I never felt like I was an outsider. Lester tried to pick me up from the first minute he stepped into my apartment.

"Not likely. I got a boyfriend." Sort of.

He sighed dramatically. "Such a waste."

I laughed. "What do you got for me?"

We talked about the case after that and I actually enjoyed his company. I could see me and Lester as really good friends. Along with Tank, Bobby, Woody and Hal.

And then there was Ranger.

He came over sporadically like he said he would and every time he was there, I just felt this connection between us growing. We even had a few moments where he might've, might've kissed me. Every touch, every joke, every lingering look (okay, so I was the one doing the lingering) just made it that much worse.

And much more confusing. Technically I was still with Joe, but Ranger... I wasn't sure what to do.

"So that's what we've got." He said one night. He started to pull his folders closed, signaling the end of our time together.

I sighed. "It's still not a lot."

"People are being tight lipped about this." Ranger paused. "You have to consider that he is part of the gang and it is a rival war."

I had thought of that. It made me sad, but I had. I shook my head. "I thought of that. But my gut tells me otherwise."

He stared at me for a moment, then nodded. "We'll keep digging."

I smiled. "Good."

There was a heady pause and we stared at each other. We both moved a step closer.

"Babe, I…" He started when his phone rang. He looked at it and grimaced.

"Who is it?"

"Jeanne." He looked a little surprised that he told me that.

"Sister?" I asked hopefully.

He paused. "It's complicated."

Ah. Girlfriend. "You should answer."

He hesitated and I silently prayed he'd hit ignore.

But he didn't. "Yo." He said. He listened for a minute and then hung up. "I've got to go."

"Sure," I said nodding.

He packed his bag and gave me a small smile. "Later, Babe."

I locked up and sighed again. I was doing that a lot more. It didn't surprise me that he had a girlfriend. He was good looking, smart, funny when he wants to be, hot, sexy and did I say hot? I just had hoped…

There was my problem. I hoped too much. I hoped something would happen with Ranger. I hoped that I would figure things out with Joe. Ranger had a girlfriend so he was out of the picture right now.

But Joe was still in. Joe who I've been with for two years. Joe who was there for me for the ups and downs. Joe who has been my rock, even when we were fighting.

Biting my lip, I picked up my phone.

"Hello?" Joe answered.

"That date still up for grabs?"

Please don't pull out your pitchforks just yet! I think you'll be happy where the next chapter (possibly chapters...) end up going! Leave the love!