Thanks to all your wonderful reviews, I was able to crank this chapter out a lot faster than I thought. Thank you so very much. Please continue to let me know how you feel about the story.
Hartelig bedankt, Stayce! None of this would have happened without you.
Disclaimer: Don't own them, might keep one or the other though
Rating: a very tame PG13Living on a Prayer
Chapter 27
I put the slice back down and Lula eyed me curiously. I couldn't blame her; probably she'd never seen me turn my back on pizza before. But I was way too overwrought to eat, and I couldn't remember the last time that happened to me.
"I have to ask you a huge favor," I said and took a long pull from my beer, "and if you can't do it, I'll understand." Christ, I sounded like such a drama queen!
Lula frowned at me. "What the hell is going on with you?" she asked, taking another bite and gesturing at my toweled foot, "You fight a werewolf or something?"
"I'll tell you all about it, but you cannot share it with Tank." Lula finished her slice and her face was a question mark.
"Will you help me even if you can't tell Tank?"
"Girl, are you on some kind of medication? You know I'll help you and there ain't nothing between you and me that my man has to know about," Lula said, taking another slice of pizza. "But you better talk fast because right now, I have a mind to call the men in the white suits."
I jumped up and started pacing in front of the TV, but my foot hurt too much so I sat back down, clenching my hands and fidgeting in my seat. I had to tell Lula, but I was debating how much to tell her. It wasn't that I didn't trust her; I just couldn't bring myself to relive everything.
"Okay," I said, taking a deep breath, "I'll tell you, but right now, we need to leave. And by that I mean you leave and pick me up."
"If that's you trying to make sense, it's not working," Lula said and picked up her beer. I had to agree with her. "How exactly did you get the pizza?" I asked her, getting impatient.
"I told you, Ranger handed it to me," She said, looking at me like a mental patient. "So you pulled into the parking lot…" I gestured for her to continue.
"Okay," she said, "I'll play along, but only 'cause I'm curious where it's going. I parked. I got out of my car. I went in through the back door and called the elevator. Then the door opened behind me and Batman comes in, handing me a pizza," she was gesturing towards the box, "By the time I got over my surprise to ask him about it, he was gone. What's with that shit? Unless he changed jobs, he's not usually delivering pizza. And if he is, why wouldn't he bring it up?"
I nodded. "Ranger and I had a…I guess you can call it a fight. Now he and at least another one of his Merry Men are watching the building."
"That would be Tank. And that's somehow bad because…" Now Lula motioned for me to go on.
"It's not bad," I said, throwing my hands up in the air, "It just means that I can't leave unnoticed. And right now, I want to leave unnoticed."
Lula shook her head, "Oh no. Nothing good ever happens when you try to outsmart the Merry Men. If they're out there, they're there to watch your skinny ass."
"It's complicated," I said, taking a sip from my beer. "I'm sure," Lula said and took another slice of pizza.
"All I'm asking is that you play along," I explained, pointing my bottle at her, "You leave in your car. Then you pull up front to pick me up." Actually, I was making this up as I went along, but I liked it. The only thing I didn't know was why I was so anxious to get away from Ranger's men. Secret agenda or not, they were protecting me.
"Suppose I do that," Lula said slowly between bites, "Where are we going?"
"I don't know yet," I admitted, barely able to stay in my seat, "But right now, I just need to get out of here. And then I'll explain everything, I promise. I just can't think right now." I emptied my beer in one long pull.
Lula nodded, "I can see that."
"So are you gonna help me?" I asked, my eyebrows raised. "Of course I'm gonna help you, yeesh!" Lula shook her head, "I'm offended you even have to ask! But if we get into trouble, I'll be in the dog house with my man, and I may get just as pissy as you did when you didn't get any."
I glared at her and she did a palms-up, "I'm just sayin'. And now I'm leavin'. When do you want me to pick you up?" She got up and gathered her purse.
"Give me ten minutes," I said, "I'll be right outside, just like old times." I remembered how I once tricked Morelli in the same way when I thought he wanted to arrest me and quickly pushed that memory away. I could not go back to thinking about bygones now! If I did, I'd get even more emotional than I already was.
"See you in ten, as the big boy likes to say," She stopped in the middle of the room and turned, "And come to think of it, did you ever wonder why they can't just say the whole sentence? Like not saying 'minutes' is gonna gain you a whole lot of time or something?"
I glared at her again, "Lula." She threw her hands up, "I'm going, I'm going. And I'm not transferencing neither, I'm just wondering." And she left. Thank God for Lula. I didn't know where I was going, but now at least I had a way to get there. She'd even managed to make me smile with her last remark.
After she left, I noticed how fast my heart was beating in my chest. My palms had gotten sweaty. Did I really know what I was doing or was I just acting on instinct?
I went into the bathroom, carefully avoiding the glass shards, to find something to bandage my foot with, since I couldn't leave with the towel around it. I finally found gauze and some tape and took the towel off. The bleeding had stopped and it wasn't a deep cut, it hurt so much because it was right in the middle of the foot. When it was as good as it was going to get, I picked the biggest shards off the floor and threw them in the wastebasket. Then I limped into my bedroom to put on socks and shoes. The only shoe I could get over the bandage was an old sneaker and I had to rummage in the closet to fid the second one. I grabbed my jacket and an empty box for Rex.
Thank God I'd rinsed a new soup can for him days ago; I now put that in the box and poured some pine shavings around it. I added his food dish and some raisins and then I picked Rex up and placed him in his new temporary home. He didn't seem happy, but after sniffing around for a minute, he stuffed the raisins into his cheek and disappeared into the soup can. Good enough, I decided and put the box on the counter where his aquarium used to be. "I'll get you a new house, buddy," I promised, "This will only be for a night or two." He ignored me.
I grabbed my purse and made sure I had everything I needed, I even checked the gun for bullets. In the bathroom, I brushed my hair and applied an extra layer of mascara and pulled my hair into a ponytail. I threw on a ball cap to get a half-assed disguise.
I took the stairs down. It took me longer, but I wouldn't have the blind spot of the automatic elevator doors. I carefully peeked through a crack of the fire door downstairs to make sure no Merry Man was guarding the hallway. The coast was clear. I pulled the visor of my cap down as far as possible and walked over to the front door. As soon as I saw Lula's Firebird approaching, I yanked the door open and sprinted out. Well, it was a limping sprint, actually. She hadn't even stopped completely when I grabbed the door handle and opened the passenger side door.
"Yeesh, you're really in a hurry, huh?"
"Just drive," I said. And when Lula didn't take off I turned to face her, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to sound snippy. I'm just anxious to get away."
Lula nodded and put the car in gear, "Just as soon as you tell me where we're going. I need a direction here."
I chewed my lower lip, going through all possible hideouts in my head. Why I wanted a hideout, I didn't know. I just needed some down time. Then I got an idea.
"Randy! Go to Randy Briggs' apartment! It worked once, it might work again!" I was getting all excited about it. Lula just shook her head and pulled away from the curb. "Randy Briggs the midget? Since when do we like him?"
"I wouldn't say we like him," I said, to ensure Lula I hadn't completely lost my mind, "But when I snug away from Ranger the last time, he was the only one I could think of…"
"Hunh," Lula said, and I knew I had hurt her feelings, so I rushed to add, "It was the middle of the night and you were with Tank. I thought I had to solve the case by myself at the time…" I shook my head at my own naïveté.
"And now he likes us?" Lula asked, obviously trying to make sense to it. "No," I said, "That's why he's perfect. No one will expect us to hide in his house."
"Ah, like this reverse psychology shit?" Lula asked. "Pretty much," I agreed.
Lula's phone started singing, "Ain't no other man" and I almost jumped at the sudden noise. "That would be Tank," Lula said but didn't move to answer it, "Probably wondering why I didn't stop by his car when I left."
"Why didn't you?" I asked and she cut her eyes to me. "You don't know much, do you?" She said, "I am not that good of a liar. And probably it was Ranger in the car with him. What did you want me to tell him, huh?"
I didn't have an answer for that, and Lula was right, but I'd bet the balance of my accounts that either Tank or Ranger were checking on me this very moment. They'd find me gone and would try to find us. Shit.
We rode the rest of the drive in silence. Since Lula remembered the way to Randy's apartment building, there was no need for me to give her directions. Lula was probably wondering how much of my mind I had lost and I was trying to figure out what to tell Randy.
Lula pulled into the parking lot at Randy's apartment building and I had a momentary feeling of déjà vu. I closed my eyes and shook my head to clear it. In hindsight, I should have holed myself up in Randy's apartment rather than go to Atlantic City.
"You all right?" Lula asked as she killed the engine. "Yeah, I'm fine," I said, "Just thinking about the last time I hid here."
"Who would have thought the little guy is your new favorite hideout," Lula said and I snorted. "I had to come up with a place Ranger wouldn't think of. Do you have any idea how hard that is?"
Now Lula snorted, "I wouldn't even try."
We got out of the car and I took a look around to see if anyone had followed us. I knew that if Rangemen didn't want to be seen they would be impossible to spot, but I was nervous.
Lula looked at me as I was limping over to the front entrance, "You need help or something?"
"I cut myself when I dropped Rex's cage," I said because I knew that's what she really wanted to know, "It just hurts when I walk, I'm fine."
Once we got to Randy's floor, I got anxious and tried to walk faster. Judging by Lula's laughter, it was a funny sight.
I rang Randy's doorbell, shifting my weight to my healthy foot. Lula caught up with me when I pressed the button a second time. "Guess he not home," She said. I shook my head, "Probably he just hopes I go away if he doesn't answer."
But when we still hadn't heard a peep from inside after I'd given the doorbell a good workout, I had to agree with Lula. I sighed, "Okay, on to door number two I guess."
Lula crossed her arms over her chest and shook her head, "Not before you tell me what the fuck is going on here. You know I'll help you no matter what, but you gotta fill me in." I leaned against the wall, suddenly pretty exhausted. "Can we talk about this in the car? I'm pretty beat," I said.
"Nuh-uh," Lula said, "I'm not going anywhere until I know what's happening. In fact," She gave Randy's door another look, "Right here might be fine." Before I could stop her, she lifted one of her boot-clad feet and gave the door a good kick and it flew open.
My eyes widened. "I can't believe you did that," I stage-whispered, "Why did you do that?" Lula helped me into the apartment. "Told you I wasn't going nowhere until you fill me in," Lula shrugged, "And besides, you don't look so hot and I need to know now, before I decide the hospital might be the better place for you," she said as if she kicked doors in on a regular basis, "You're kind of scaring me right now"
"I'm kinda scaring myself right now," I admitted. Christina Aguilera announced that Lula had another call and again she ignored it. Two hours with me, and already she was picking up my bad habits.
Come to think of it, why wasn't my cell phone ringing? I hobbled over to the couch in the living room with Lula's help and put my foot up. Then I grabbed my cell phone out of my pocketbook to make sure it was on. Yep, it was on and getting a strong signal.
My guess was that the second call from Tank came after he had discovered I was gone. Had Ranger asked him to call rather than call me himself? That didn't sound like Ranger, but I was sure he knew I wasn't in my apartment anymore, and the fact that he hadn't called me didn't sound like him either. I was making my head hurt.
Lula picked up her phone and I raised my eyebrows at her. 'It's okay,' she mouthed. "Yo Tito," she said into the mouthpiece, "It's Lula. What's that no-good brother of yours up to?" She listened. I didn't know a Tito. "Uh-huh. Well, put him on, I need his help. He does owe me a favor, you know," Lula said and shot me a look while she waited. I assumed Tito's brother came on the line because she got much friendlier. Then she gave out Randy's address and told him to bring his stuff. My eyes grew wide. "Who is Tito?" I asked when she disconnected, "And why is his brother coming here?"
"I need coffee," Lula announced, "And some sugar. Let's see what's in the kitchen." She took off into the open kitchen and started searching cabinets. I felt kind of bad for invading Randy's space like this, but I'd explain it all to him and pay him for the damage, I decided.
"Tito's brother is a medic," Lula said from the kitchen while she prepped the coffee maker, "I figured you wouldn't go to a hospital, so I'd bring the next best thing here. You need that foot looked at."
I got choked up at her thoughtfulness. On my best day, I hated hospitals, and I was nowhere near my best day.
Lula sat down next to me and handed me coffee, then she blew on her own and took a sip. "We got some time before he'll get here," She said, "You might as well tell me what's the what. I'm gonna take a wild guess here and say it involves Ranger."
I nodded and took a sip from my coffee. "Figured. No other reason you'd make sure I wouldn't tell Tank." She sat back and drank her coffee.
"Do you trust him?" I asked after a minute. "Who, Tank?" She wanted to know. "Yes, Tank. And Ranger, I guess."
"Absolutely. And I don't say that lightly neither. It takes a lot for me to trust a man, any man. Those two, I trust."
Lula was a ho in her former life, I thought that if she learned one thing, it was how to read men. No matter how they appeared, she would see through that to their core. And if she trusted Ranger, why couldn't I?
"Do you know what Tank's working on?" I asked. Lula shrugged, "Mostly he's keeping your ass safe. He told me about the trip to Point Pleasant. We don't talk about work much, actually…"
'Or talk at all,' her smile said. I sighed. Lula's relationship with Tank seemed so simple, so uncomplicated.
"Well, they're working with the FBI on Joe's murder case," I said, pausing to let that information settle. "So?" Lula said and drank some more coffee.
"So Ranger never told me!" I exclaimed and waved my hands around for emphasis, since I couldn't jump up.
"And?" Lula asked. Not provokingly, it really seemed like she was still waiting for me to get to the point. I scoffed. "So you think that's okay? He's been working on the case behind my back, doing the FBI's legwork, and he never told me about it."
"That's what this is about?" Lula asked, her eyebrows raised. She gestured at the apartment as if it summed up her confusion.
"Well, yeah," I said. I couldn't understand how she was not outraged by it at all. "Are you saying you'd be okay with Tank working on something so important to you and never telling you about it?"
Lula thought about that for a moment. "If he did, he must have had a damned good reason for it. Ranger doesn't do anything just for the hell of it."
"Like what?" I said, "What would be a good reason to keep all that from me?" Lula turned to face me. "Well, I don't know, it's his reason, but after what he's been doing for you in the past couple weeks…"
I held up my hand and interrupted her, "You mean what he was paid to do for me?"
Lula snorted, "Yeah, right. 'Cause usually Ranger doesn't do anything for you without getting paid for it, I forgot. My bad," she said, shaking her head, "Girlfriend, did you hit your head or something?"
I huffed. "If it was just a regular job and he didn't have anything to hide, why would he clam up when I confronted him about it? Why does he have Tank call you instead of calling me directly, huh?"
"I don't know," Lula said, "but he must have a damned good reason, that's for sure." I sighed exasperated. "You said that already."
Lula straightened her shoulders, "Well, it's true. How you can even think Ranger would be working against you is beyond me. Maybe you didn't have your sugar today. More likely, this whole mess is overwhelming you," She said and patted my knee. "You need some rest and some time to think it all through. You got it all wrong, I'm sure."
"Well, riddle me this, Batgirl," I said, my voice dripping with sarcasm, "The killer is in jail, I'm safe. How come there's a RangeMan watching me 24/7, huh? And if there's a damned good reason as you say there is, why keep it from me, huh?"
"That's your reason for this sneaky shit?" Lula asked, her eyebrows meeting her hairline, "Why are you so hell bent on losing your bodyguards?"
I slumped back. "Because I don't know who to trust anymore," I almost whispered and closed my eyes.
I flinched when the doorbell rang. "That would be Miguelito." Lula said and put her mug on the coffee table, "But don't call him that. Everybody calls him Miguel to his face. He's cool, relax." With that, she got up and sauntered over to the front door.
"Use the Intercom," I reminded her, "If it's Tank, I'd like some warning at least!" Lula rolled her eyes at me but pushed the button just the same.
"Who there?" she asked. "Cut the shit, Lula," came the response, "it's Miguel. You called me over here." Lula turned and grinned at me before she pressed the door-release button. "See? It's all good," she said.
I didn't think anything was good, but at least Tank and Ranger wouldn't be storming up here in the next five minutes. Beyond that, I wasn't sure.
Lula opened the door and a guy that looked like a cover model for People en Español stepped in. He was about 5'10", in his mid- to late thirties with short black hair, mocha skin and fiery black eyes. He was dressed in jeans and sweatshirt and was carrying an aluminum case with a big red cross on it. He looked more like an actor playing a medic.
"This here's Stephanie, Miguel. She needs your help," Lula said and motioned towards me. Miguel stepped closer and extended his hand. "Miguel Verastegui, nice to meet you."
I cleared my throat, "Stephanie Plum. I don't know if I actually need your help but some pills to fall into a deep coma and wake up in a couple months would be nice."
Miguel chuckled and put his case down. He undid my bandage job and took a look at my foot. "It's not so bad," He said, "What happened?"
"I stepped into some glass," I said and held my hand up,"Then I accidentally put my hand in it for good measure." Miguel nodded and took a small bottle and some gauze out of his bag. "Your tetanus shots are up to date?" He asked. I nodded eagerly. I couldn't even remember my last shot, but there was no need to share that with this hot medic. Just because he was good looking didn't mean he got to poke a needle into me.
Miguel cleaned up the cuts and I barely managed to not jerk my foot away from him. Whatever he was using on it stung like hell. He checked my hand too and put a fresh band-aid on it before he smeared some ointment on the cut and bandaged my foot all professionally. When he was done, he put all his stuff back into his case. "You'll be fine," He said getting up, "No need to spend hours in an ER waiting room. I don't think either wound needs stitches. Just don't wear any tight shoes or run a marathon for a week."
I thanked him and Lula saw him out, assuring him that they were even now from that thing with the guy in the place or something. Miguel had given me a pill and it was making me sleepy. I'd only been half kidding when I asked for a coma pill, so I was hoping he had obliged and I would wake up sometime in February. I closed my eyes and sank back into the pillows. Lula's phone was ringing again.
"If that's Tank, talk to him," I said without opening my eyes, "I don't want him to worry about you. Just don't tell him where we are."
"Hunh," Lula said, "What should I say when he asks me where I am? I'd rather not talk to him than lie to him." I could see her point. I may ask her to do something semi-legal but I wouldn't ask her to lie to Tank for me. Not telling him something was as far as I would take it.
"So what was the plan after sneaking away from Ranger and his men who were protecting your ass from creeps that shoot out your car window?" Lula asked when she sat back down next to me.
When she put it that way I had no response. "I haven't thought that far ahead," I admitted. She nodded, "Figured as much. How're you feeling?"
"I'd love to take a nap. Whatever Miguel gave me is mellowing me out," I said. Lula nodded, "Go get some rest then. I'll handle Randy when he comes back."
"And you're not gonna call Ranger?"
Lula sighed. "No, I'm not gonna call Ranger. I wish you'd get over this Ranger's-the-bad-guy shit, but that's your call to make. 'Less you forgot to mention something, I still don't see what the big deal is."
"It's complicated," I defended myself. Lula snorted, "I'll bet." We seemed to be having the same conversation all over again.
"What's that supposed to mean?" I asked, trying to stay calm. "Let me run this by you again and you correct me if I'm wrong," Lula stood up and gestured while she talked, "You hole up in your bed and would probably still be there if Ranger hadn't hauled your ass back into the here and now." She looked at me to see if I was going to object. When I didn't, she used her fingers as she went on to count off Ranger's actions.
"He drops what he's doing, reassigns projects so that he can protect you 'round the clock. When you get yourself kidnapped, he doesn't let himself or his men sleep for 48 hours until he finds you, then he plans this major mission with most of his men to trap your guy in Point Pleasant and -"
"All right, all right," I interrupted her, putting my hand up in a 'Stop' gesture. "When you're done singing St. Ranger's praises, can you focus on how he had his own agenda the whole time and was reporting back to the feds?"
"What makes you think that just because he was working for them he told them everything that went on? Did you ask him what he was doing for them?" Lula was standing with her hands on her hips, challenging me.
"Yes, and he wouldn't tell me," I said, "So it's pretty clear that he doesn't trust me."
"Hunh," Lula huffed. She looked around, "We need to talk about that more. But this here is a junk food situation and there ain't no junk food in the house. I'm gonna go get some, I can't think on an empty stomach." She grabbed her bag and marched towards the door. I didn't dare mention the pizza she'd had less than an hour ago, it wasn't smart to challenge Lula in her Rhino mode.
I could still hear her talking to herself as she walked down the hallway when my phone rang. It was Thomalla and I sighed. He never had good news for me. But he was the only one treating me like an equal, I had to talk to him.
"Steph, it's Frank," He said when I answered the phone. "I need to talk to you about that evidence again."
"What about it?" I asked. He hesitated a moment, then he took a noisy breath. "They moved Gardner's hearing up to tomorrow. You should have gotten a subpoena today."
I frowned. "Why would I have to be there?"
"You are the state's only witness for the kidnapping charges. Didn't the DA call you?" Thomalla said. My stomach turned. I didn't want to see Teddy again, ever, unless he was hanging from a tree or bleeding to death. "I haven't gotten anything," I replied.
"Ranger may have handled it for you," Thomalla said matter-of-factly and I felt my earlier anger at Ranger return. "The point is they're asking you to be there. Don't worry though, I'll be there with you. But I was hoping we could present the additional evidence at that time, make the state's case stronger."
"Frank, I'm
sorry, I didn't have the time to look for it. I'm not at home
right now, so…"
"No problem," Thomalla said and I exhaled
relieved. He was the only one I knew who wasn't pressuring me at
this point. "I'd like to go over the case with you, since the DA
won't have time to prep you."
I nodded and was about to reply when a banging on the door interrupted me. Trust Lula to pull a damaged door shut so it won't open, I thought.
"Hold on a second," I told Thomalla and heaved myself off the couch. "So what did you have in mind?" I asked him as I limped over to get the door. I was focusing on what he was saying and just pulled the door open, expecting Lula.
I gasped and the phone fell out of my hand when I looked at Ranger. He was standing an inch from the door, his arms crossed over his chest, his face blank. Shit!
I bend down to retrieve the phone, anything to avoid looking at him. I knew slamming the door shut wouldn't help; Ranger would be in before I could make a move. So I just turned away from him.
"Sorry, I dropped the phone. What were you saying?" I picked up the conversation again as if nothing had happened. My heart was hammering in my chest, but my voice sounded normal.
"How about we meet for dinner?" Thomalla suggested. I could hear Ranger closing the door behind me. "Dinner sounds good," I said, "But I'm a little immobile right now…" Apart from the fact that I could hardly walk, I didn't have my car with me.
"Okay," Thomalla said, "How about dinner comes to you then? I'll get take-out. Where are you?"
I stole a glance at Ranger. He was standing in the living room, watching me. And suddenly I felt the urge to get even.
"I can't talk right now, but that sounds good. How about 8? I'm at a friend's house, at the Cloverleaf Apartments on Grand? Call me when you get in, I'll give you the details." I may have sounded a little flirtier than was appropriate. Thomalla agreed and we disconnected.
I shut the phone and hobbled back to the couch, still not looking at Ranger.
"You don't have to talk to me," He started and luckily I was at the couch by then or else I would have betrayed my cool exterior by flinching. This way, I could pretend it was part of my sitting down routine.
"You're damned right I don't have to," I responded coolly. I didn't feel cool and composed, I wanted to flail my arms and yell, but I managed to control myself. "As a matter of fact, I don't have to do anything I don't want to. I certainly don't need your permission for anything I do want to do." Ranger stepped closer and sat down on the coffee table, facing me. "I thought we'd agreed you aren't gonna run away from me anymore?" He said softly.
I just snorted. I wanted to tell him that was a deal we had before he went and broke all deals, but instead I went into the defensive. "An animal in the zoo runs away, Ranger," I said pointedly, "I merely left my apartment with a friend of mine. You have a problem with me shedding the leash you have me on?"
"Who's coming for dinner?" Ranger asked. Aha. Was I getting too close to the truth? I finally met his eyes. "None of your business," I hissed. I'd never before hissed at Ranger. I wasn't even all that mad at him anymore, the way he was sitting there, looking at me. But now it was too late, my pride wouldn't let me give in. "Trust is a two-way street, Ranger. I'll tell you who I'm having dinner with when you tell me what you're doing working with the feds."
Ranger let out a long breath and looked at the bandage on my foot. He ran his hand over the gauze and I sucked in some air when his fingers touched the bare skin of my calf. I couldn't help being glad that I had shaved my legs in the shower that morning, but I really wanted to pull away from his touch. I wanted to tell him to 'keep his dirty paws off me' or something equally pissy.
Except I couldn't. He was massaging my calf with his strong fingers and I felt all the tension from the limping and hobbling melt away. I just barely bit back a moan. My eyes shut on their own. I almost protested when he removed his fingers, then I heard him move and sit down behind me on the couch. His hands settled on my shoulders and worked their magic inwards. If I'd been a cat, I would have purred. Being a woman, I bit my tongue to keep inappropriate sounds in. I was mad at my body for betraying me like this, and I was mad at Ranger for knowing it would.
I didn't even notice I was leaning back until I settled against Ranger's broad chest.
A smile crept across my lips as I noticed what he was doing. "You can't make me change my mind, you know," I said wistfully.
He moved forward until his lips almost touched my earlobe, "Wanna bet?" He whispered and I could feel him smile as his breath tickled the sensitive skin around my ear.
"It's the pill Miguelito gave me. He knew just what I needed, it mellowed me out," I said.
"Who's Miguelito?"
A/N: Ready to forgive and forget? Do you think Steph should get over it and work with Ranger again or should she stick with Lula and distance herself from Ranger? Would Ranger let her if she wanted to work alone??