Warning-This chapter includes violence and violence of a sexual nature. (Please don't read the warning and review that you are surprised or offended. That's just dumb.)

Previously-

"I don't want to be upset with you. I want us to have a fresh start and a new life together. We're going to get married and we're going to have kids. You never could make up your mind when he was around and he didn't even want you, Cupcake. He had his chance all those times when we broke up and didn't take it. Face that fact and let him go! You need my help to be happy and you will be."

Chapter 2

The reality of what Joe had just said made her grimace and the tears began to fall again. Joe didn't even know about the one time that they had been together and that Ranger had told her he couldn't have a relationship with her and had sent her back to him. The memory was painful. Ranger hadn't wanted her, but that had not changed the way she felt about him and she knew in her heart that he had sincerely cared about her too. They hadn't just had sex. They had made love and it had been good.

He went to the bathroom and showered and she lay there thinking and trying to hold the brunt of her tears back until she could have the chance to be alone with her grief. Even in death, Joe was threatened by Ranger. All the pent-up anger he ever had toward the man was coming out now at her. She didn't know this side of Joe and was starting to feel afraid.

When he came back to the bedroom, she went to the shower. As soon as the water started, the tears started. When she got out and looked at herself in the mirror she saw that half her body was covered in small bruises from his fingers. She had new ones on her jaws. She quietly stepped out of the bathroom and looked at the bed. Thank goodness he was sleeping. She put sweatpants and a shirt on and eased into the bed and crawled into a tight ball and closed her eyes and went back to her dreams and remembered the tender chocolate eyes, his smell and gentle kisses.

Joe woke her the next morning and told her to get ready and drive him to work. She didn't have a car because hers had gone to Stephanie's car heaven about a week before Ranger was killed. She had been driving one of Ranger's cars and Joe made her give it back after they got word about his death.

"Joe, my insurance check came in and I'm going to buy a car today."

"No you're not. We'll wait to buy you a new car. You'll drop me off at the station and take my SUV and go back to your apartment and continue to pack. Then you'll pick up some cookbooks from a bookstore and go to the grocery store and pick me up at work when I call." She nodded and fed Rex and they left.

The first place she drove to after she dropped Joe off was a women's clinic. Joe knew who her gynecologist was and she didn't want Joe to check and find out about this. She waited and then asked for birth control in the form of a shot she'd heard about and only had to take every three months. The last thing she wanted was for Joe to get her pregnant before she could gain control of her life again. After, she stopped at the Tasty Pastry bakery and picked up a box of doughnuts and headed to the bonds office. She needed to see some friendly faces. She needed her girls. Her strength was waning every day she was without her friends.

She walked in and Lester and Hal were there. Hal hugged her and then Lester hugged her and looked at her face and neck.

"Stephanie, are you okay", Lester asked.

"I'm okay, Les. I miss Ranger really bad."

"We all do, beautiful."

Hal asked, "Why did you quit your job?"

"It's complicated, Hal."

Connie asked, "Are you picking up skips today, Steph? I got plenty to choose from. The guys were going to give me a hand with some of these."

"Sorry, Connie. I can't pick up skips right now for you."

Lula put her hands on her hips. "You better spill right now and tell us what the fuck is goin' on, girl. I ain't buying no bullshit today!"

"It's Joe. We're going through some adjustments. That's all it is. He doesn't want me to take skips right now. I'm moving in with him this weekend."

Four mouths said, "What?"

Lester's eyes narrowed. "I want to know, did he put those marks on you?" She just stared at him.

Connie said, "He did, didn't he? What is going on with him. He was never this way before, was he?"

"It's personal and complicated Con. I can't talk about it."

"Oh hell no, girlfriend. You are not going to disrespect our friendship by feeding me that!"

"Lula, he's a cop. A respected and powerful cop and now with political backing. He can hurt anybody that gets involved in this, including all of you. Let me just try to figure some things out."

"Lester, you and Hal could do me a favor by getting my last paycheck from Rangeman. I need to pay Dillon to hold my apartment for a couple months." Then she handed her Rangeman key fob to Hal.

"Shit Steph, we would go pay him for you out of our pockets. Tank would too. He's going to be pissed when he hears this."

"Why don't we just keep this between us for right now, guys."

She hugged everyone and left.

At the bookstore she bought a couple beginner cookbooks as instructed and headed to her apartment. She was digging in her closet and felt a familiar tingle that she missed so much and turned into strong arms. "Ranger, you came again. Please just hold me for a while." She sobbed into his chest.

"Stephanie, don't cry. I want you to be happy. Have faith and continue to trust me."

"I do and always did. I've just lost faith in me."

He gently kissed her and she closed her eyes. When she opened them again he was gone. She felt empty without him.

After she packed a few boxes in the kitchen, she looked at the clock. She needed to go by the grocery before Joe called and didn't want to make him mad. She looked in one of the cookbooks and jotted down ingredients for a couple simple casserole and pasta recipes and left to go purchase the ingredients. While she was in the checkout lane her phone rang. It was Joe and she answered. "Are you ready for me to pick you up now?"

"Yeah. I'm about ready."

"I'm going through the grocery checkout now. I'll be on my way as soon as I get through here."

"Good girl." He disconnected.

When she pulled up to the station Joe was waiting for her outside talking to a couple cops. He waved at her and hopped in the passenger side of the SUV and gave her a kiss on the cheek. "How was your day, Cupcake?"

"It was good, Joe. Yours?"

"Okay. So what's for dinner tonight?"

"I bought some stuff to make a casserole and a salad. Shouldn't take long to make."

"Sounds good. How about I help you. We can cook together and eat. Then we can go upstairs and have hot sweaty gorilla sex."

He seemed a little more like the Joe she knew tonight. She smiled at him. "That sounds good, Joe." She thought, as long as it wasn't angry sex then she could handle it.

She showed him the cookbooks and the chicken and rice recipe that she was going to make. "Sounds great. You start that and I'll cut up the broccoli and the salad vegetables." He gave her a quick kiss and went to work. He finished the salad as she put the casserole in the oven.

"It will be done in about 30-40 minutes. You want to watch some TV?" He shook his head with a wicked grin on his face

He walked her over to the kitchen dinette and bent her over it. "Cupcake, if we're going to make a baby then we need to take every opportunity we can get." He held her head down. "Pull down those jeans and those panties for me." She reached down and did what he asked. "Good girl. Now, you reach down and get yourself wet and ready for me while I grab a beer."

She was stunned by his order that she fondle herself so disrespectfully, in this room and in this position. Then she thought about the pain she'd experienced when she wasn't ready and Joe wasn't small by any normal measure. So she did what he asked.

He came back and unbuckled his belt and pulled his jeans down and reached around and fondled her gentler than the last time and then plunged into her and she closed her eyes as it seemed to take forever before he finally grunted his release and came inside of her. He zipped up and pulled her head up and kissed her hard. "Nice. Better check on that casserole now, Cupcake."

Joe talked while they ate. She nodded and acted like she was interested in what he was saying. She cleaned up the kitchen and stopped at the bottom of the stairs and looked up. She was wishing that she had the power to change time and turn the clock back so she didn't have to go up there. So she didn't have to be here. This is not the way it was supposed to be between two people that cared about each other she thought.

They had plain missionary sex this time and thank goodness he rolled off and just went to sleep. She moved to the other side of the bed and lay there, but sleep never came.

The next morning she drove Joe to the police station again. As she was pulling out of the lot her phone rang. It was Tank.

"Hello."

"Little sister, can you come by Rangeman."

"I don't know, Tank. Probably not a good idea."

"Bomber, I promised my friend that if anything ever happened to him that I would look after you. I just want to see you to make sure you're okay."

She gave a weary sigh. "Okay. I'll come now."

She parked outside the building because she no longer had access to the garage and went in the street access door and Zero nodded to her and punched the button on the elevator for level five. When the elevator door opened Tank grabbed her and pulled her into a big bear hug.

"I miss you, little girl."

"Me too, Tank."

He looked at her closely. "You don't look so good. You look tired and you have bruises on you. Come to my office. We need to talk about this."

She wearily followed him. When he closed the door he took her shoulders in his big hands and looked in her eyes. "Stephanie, please tell me what is happening to you and how I can help you."

"I can't and I'll be okay. Thank you for caring about me, big guy."

"Stephanie, Ranger would want us to protect you and take care of you."

"I'm not your responsibility or your burden. Truth be told, I don't think I really care anymore what happens and that's the truth Tank."

"This is not what I want to hear from you and that is not you, Bomber!"

"Please, just let me work this out for myself and don't get involved. Your involvement will only bring Rangeman problems."

"Be clear about this. I ain't scared of Morelli. The boys came to me and Rangeman has secured your apartment. I'm going to tell you again to keep the faith and be strong. I want you to call me if you need me. Call any of us. I'm worried and against my better judgement, I'm going to trust that you can take care of yourself and let you walk out of here." He hugged her again.

"Thank you, Tank. Goodbye."

When she picked up Joe that night he was silent and cold. As soon as they got through the door of his house he slapped her across the face. "What the fuck was my truck doing parked in front of Rangeman today?"

"I…I went to pick up my paycheck."

"Give it to me!"

"I…put it in the bank already."

"Show me the deposit slip"

"I…I can't."

"You're lying to me? Why did you go there?"

"Tank called me."

"What did you tell him?"

"Nothing. He's just curious why I suddenly quit."

"You will never go to those thugs again when they call and you will never lie to me again. Tonight you're going to learn a hard lesson, Cupcake. This is ALL your fault!" He grabbed her by her pony tail and began pulling her toward the stairs. She looked up them. This time with real foreboding.

TBC-

There was a revealing slip of the tongue early in chap 1. Did any one catch it?

For any women that have had to endure this, my empathy goes out to you and hope that you gathered strength from someone or something who cared about you. Man or furry friend. Does not matter. My best to you and this story is for you. I have already had one guest speak out and I hope that more will.

For those of you who have the same question as one reviewer: Why does she not just call 911? Stupid women.

She has relied on Ranger for support and rescue for several years and that support has been ripped out from under her. She is grieving and confused and weakened by that grief. She is seeing Ranger in her head. She loves Joe, yet is shocked by the sudden change in him and he has her parents backing and he now has political people in high places that can bring trouble to her friends and Rangeman.

Steph is not a strong person and that is the way JE wrote her. She has fallen prey to her parents and to Joe and her ex-husband and she even let Ranger mess with her head at times. Last, do you know how many battered women in this country NEVER call 911? Too damn many.

This story as originally written is only five chaps. Fans of my twisted mind that know me can decide if you want more. I did write more and with a twist and a possible hea. You can decide if you want it dead and buried or if you want to roll with it.