I still don't own the characters or anything.

Thanks for all the nice reviews!

Again a big THANK YOU to XJerseyGirl. :x

Temptation

Chapter Two: The Meeting

At 5.30 pm she stepped into Ranger's apartment.

"Ranger?"

Nothing. Good, so he wasn't there. Better not be together with him here. There were too many memories and desires in this apartment. Doing something about them would only serve to confuse her more.

She went to the bedroom and found a pair of black jeans, a white blouse and a black sweater with three-quarter sleeves. Hmmm, not what she had expected, but it was nice. As a matter of fact, it was very nice.

By 7pm she was almost asleep. It was a good thing that the meeting was about to start. The meeting took place in RangeMan's largest conference room. There was a huge, dark, wooden table, a laptop, a screen and a sideboard with coffee. The chairs were black leather and all the same size. She was happy to see that. It meant that there was a team working here. Besides, Ranger didn't need an oversized chair to spotlight his leadership. He knew he had the respect of everyone in the room.

The meeting started and Ranger had repeated the things he told her yesterday plus a few details. The gang's computer savy. They've hacked into into company and personal accounts and emptied them, earning 6 mil dollars. They stole the all the cars from the car company by disabling the cameras and using a big truck to pull down the security fencing. Then they just drove the cars into the truck and vanished. They took the cars appart and sold the parts except the engines. Nobody knew why they didn't sell this or what their plan was. That's how they worked.

Now the young police officer who was in charge of investigating the robbery of a little jewelry store that happened yesterday, was telling them what he had found. He told them EVERYTHING he found, and how he found it, and when he found it. He stood in front of them and preened like a peacock.

She looked at Ranger who was sitting at the end of the table, two seats away from her own. He looked like he was in his zone. Steph had to smile at the thought of the perfect Ranger not listening. But her guess was that he already knew everything the cop was saying.

As if he sensed her look, he turned towards her and he raised one eyebrow.

She mouthed,"Serious thoughts?" and he had to smile, too.

"Hey Bombshell, no flirting during such an interesting meeting. You could miss something." Tank whispered into her ear. He was sitting beside her.

Steph concentrated on the file before her, to keep from laughing. But she couldn't keep fom thinking. She realized that by now she was as comfortable with Ranger as she was with Morelli.

She knew about his short marriage, she had got to know his daughter and he had shown her where he grew up.

Hell, she even knew something about his childhood. That he hadn't always been the strong, confident and respected person, he was now.

Finally, the 'I'm so impressed with myself- aren't you impressed with me, too' monologue ended.

Ranger stood up and every eye turned to him.

"Okay, now we have to discuss how to handle this situation. We will definitely put the all company buildings under the highest securitiy. The robbers planted a snitch into one of the targeted companies, so I'd like to research every person that was hired in the last 6 months. Tomorrow I will inform you about the strategy that we come up with. Tonight Lester and Bobby are in charge of the shift. Anything else?"

The peacock opened his mouth: "I think it would be good idea if you…"

"Okay, break." Ranger interrupted him.

Tank and Steph smiled at each other.

Steph stood up and joined Ranger. He poured two cups of coffee, fixing one with cream and sugar for her. He handed it to her with a smile.

"How are you doing, babe?"

"I have to ask you something. I need a favor."

He raised an eyebrow.

"Could I use RangeMan's search programs to look for a few details about an FTA?"

"Jackie?"

She nodded.

"Okay, but use my office on the 7th floor."

"Thanks, Ranger. I appreciate it."

At 9pm the official meeting ended and since Ranger still had to talk to a few people, she went up to his apartment to do her research.

First, she wrote down all the information that she already had.

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The drug dealer usually "ran his business" on a corner only a few yards away from Jackie's former apartment.

A few members were arrested and several of them said that Jackie was part of the ring. One of those arrested was her ex-boyfriend. (Does he just want to get back at her? Is revenge a motive?)

Jackie had been an addict. (Did they just sell her drugs or did she also sell them also?)

Jackie was a former prostitute, so probably everyone will believe that she was involved. But was she?

Jackie was seen with some members of the ring. There are pictures of her going into their building. Why was she there?

Jackie is missing. (Does that mean she was involved? Is there another problem? Is Jackie dead or alive?)

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Steph decided to do an extensive search on Jackie's ex-boyfriend.

She found out, that he grew up in NYC. His parents had been normal workers, who had moved from Columbia when he was three. They died when he was 18. He joined the army and was stationed in Columbia. With 23 he had been arrested for assault and for rape.

There hadn't been enough evidence to actually get him convicted and send him to prison. He seemed to be a little bit too lucky.

By now Steph's eyes burned because of the bright light of the monitor and her head hurt because everything seemed so unpromising and she really wanted to help Jackie.

She sighed and leaned over to rest her head on the desk.

Warm hands pulled her against a muscular stomach. Ranger started to massage her temples while he read everything she had written.

"Looks like trouble, babe."

And boy, was he right.

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