Disclaimer: I do not own the characters created by Janet Evanovich. I just really really wish I did!! I am just using them in this story. I only own Carmella, but you can have her if you want her!

"Field Of Innocence" by Evanescence

I still remember the world
From the eyes of a child
Slowly those feelings
Were clouded by what I know now

Where has my heart gone
An uneven trade for the real world
I want to go back to
Believing in everything and knowing nothing at all

I still remember the sun
Always warm on my back
Somehow it seems colder now

Where has my heart gone
Trapped in the eyes of a stranger
I want to go back to
Believing in everything

Where has my heart gone
An uneven trade for the real world
I want to go back to
Believing in everything
Away

Where has my heart gone
Trapped in the eyes of a stranger
I want to go back to
Believing in everything

I still remember…

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

"So where are we going now?" I asked after about ten minutes of silence. Carmella shrugged.

"We need to get some more ammo. The stocks are running low." Tank said, more to Ranger then to anyone else.

"I'll go to the mall then, it's next to the ammo shop isn't it?" Carmella muttered. Tank nodded in response. This suited me fine, I could do my shopping. We pulled up right outside the mall, obviously not wanting any chance of a repeat of yesterday. Carmella and I started to walk into the mall, when Tank ran up to us and gave Carmella a fistful of dollar notes.

"Your dad's in a foul mood. Just ignore him; he's had a lot to deal with lately." He said, glancing briefly at me. She nodded and walked into the mall with me following. Carmella bought another new outfit and then helped me get some new clothes. I was surprised at how perceptive and useful Carmella was. She was like my own personal shopper. By the end of the trip, I had over $2000 worth of new clothes. I gave Carmella $1000 as a reward for helping with the apprehension. Ranger and Tank had assured me that they didn't want (or need) a share of the money, but I felt Carmella deserved it. She celebrated her first successful apprehension by buying a tub of Ben and Jerry's. We walked out of the mall and saw Tank and Ranger stood by the car. They had their backs to us and were arguing loudly.

"For God's sake Ranger, she's fifteen. You can't keep treating her like a little child. It's sad that you've missed so much of her life but this is not the way to get it back. If you keep treating her like a child then you're just going to drive her away. You heard what your lawyer said the other day, if you want her to stay here then you're going to have to listen to her. Eva has a shit hot defence and she has more of a chance of keeping Carmella with her then you do. She's married that boyfriend of hers and that shows a stable family environment. You can't let Carmella go back to them. Ric, you know what he did to her. Next time he might do worse." Tank said.

"You're right. I know that you're right. But when you see your only daughter running after some lunatic and putting herself in danger, you don't think about how old she is. You just think about how you can protect her. I don't think I could lose her again Tank." Ranger replied.

"I know man, but the court is already swaying in Eva's favour. Don't push it any more." I looked beside me and saw Carmella's eyes filling up with tears. She sobbed loudly and Tank and Ranger spun around and saw her.

"They're married? They got married and neither of you told me."

"Shit, Carmella, I…"

"You told me it was all ok. You said that there was no way Madre would get custody. You said that I could stay here forever." She whimpered. Ranger took a step towards her, but she stepped back and dropped her shopping bags.

"Sweetheart, I didn't want you to worry about any of this. I'm sorry, I shouldn't have lied to you but if I'd told you then you might have given up hope and that would have killed me. I'm so sorry."

"I can't go back there. Not with him. If you try to make me, then I'll run away again. I'll go back to Cuba and…you'll never find me." she screamed, then turned and ran off down the street.

"Shit!" Ranger exclaimed and took off after her, with me and Tank running behind him. Carmella turned a corner and disappeared from sight. She was faster then any of us and had desperation and anger fuelling her, plus Ranger had a broken arm and I was still clutching my shopping. Ranger turned the corner and slowed to a stop.

"Fuck!" he shouted. We ran to his side and saw that there were five different paths leading off to goodness knows where. We each chose a path to follow, in the hope of finding Carmella.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

He saw her walk through the door and take a seat at the bar. She didn't belong in here. She was beautiful and elegant, whereas the bar was dirty and dark. Tears were pouring down her beautiful face. He recognized her instantly, and wondered what the hell she was doing here. She pulled some money out of her pocket and called the bartender.
"Vodka and coke." She muttered. The bartender leered toothlessly at her.

"I think you're going to have to convince me that you're old enough." He grinned. She sighed and placed her bag on the bar. She unzipped it slightly to reveal a gun.

"I think you're just going to serve me." She commanded. The guy grabbed the money from her hand and shuffled off to pour her drink. He handed it to her and she snatched it out of his grip. She looked so beautiful and innocent; it seemed like a sin to be looking at her for so long. She had no idea. She shouldn't be drinking at her age, even if she looked older. He let his eyes travel all over her beautifully developed body and noticed that the bartender was still leering. He couldn't stand it. How dare that…that pervert watch her like that. He stood from his invisible refuge and approached the bar. He could see her dark eyes, burning up with fury and anger but most of all, despair. He was so close, he could see the tiny tears that clung to her eyelashes, she could smell her perfume…She looked up and saw him. It was unbelievable, only yesterday they'd been so close but now she didn't even recognize him and if she did, she wouldn't know where she'd seen him. At the time she was clinging to her father's life. He smiled at her and she almost smiled back. Her eyes lit up for a few seconds.

"Hi." He smiled "I'd offer to buy you a drink, but apparently you already have one." She smiled back, properly this time. Her face became alive and animated.

"Well, thanks anyway. Maybe when I've finished this one…" she said suggestively. He felt a surge of feet rush through his body and had to remind himself that she was fifteen. But she looked so much older.

"So…what brings you here?" he asked. She shrugged.

"Just had a bad day." She replied, not giving anything away and giving the impression that he shouldn't ask.

"I'm sorry to hear that." He watched her drain the last of her drink. "So, can I get you another?" he offered, the second she put her glass down.

"You're keen, aren't you?" she giggled as he ordered another vodka and coke. Maybe now would be a good time…if he could get her then maybe that would be it, over.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

I ran up and down the alleys, looking for any sign of Carmella. Nothing. My cell phone rang and I delved through the contents of my pocket book.

"Carmella?" I asked.

"No babe, I guess this means that you haven't found her either." Ranger's voice said.

"Where would she be?" I asked. "She can't have gone back to the mall, Tank's there and he'd have called wouldn't he?" There was no need to ask. He would have called.

"We've just got to keep looking babe."

"We're getting no where. We're probably just following each other in circles."

"I know you're right. Meet me at the end of the alley where we first split up." He instructed, then hung up. I made my way back down the alley and saw Ranger leant against one of the buildings. He looked so worried. I touched his arm lightly and smiled.

"We will find her. She's just upset right now." Ranger nodded, then looked up at me.

"What did she mean 'back to Cuba'? When did she go to Cuba in the first place?" he asked. I didn't know what to say.

"Didn't she tell you?" I asked, guessing the answer. He shook his head. "Well, she told us on the first day she got here that when she left Florida. She just said that she went to stay with family in Cuba for two months before she came here."

"That means that she's been out of school for about three months. Oh hell, this is not going to look good in court." He muttered.

"I know, but right now we have to find Carmella." I told him. He nodded and we set off down the last unchecked alley.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

"My name's Carmella." She smiled sweetly. He felt his heart melt at her expression.

"I'm Carl." He replied, saying the first name that came into his head. He rested his hand on her thigh and smiled at her.

"I feel like I can talk to you Carmella." He smiled "Do you want to go and get something to eat? My car's just outside." He told her.

"I don't think that's such a good idea…" she replied and shifted to try to get his hand off her, but he kept it firmly on her thigh.

"Come on, we've been talking for ages. I'm just offering to get you something to eat, you look hungry." He moved his hand slightly higher up her thigh.
"I really think I should be going now." She shifted and made to stand up. He pushed her back down firmly.

"I don't think so."

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

We walked down to the end of the alley and came out in a dark street. There was nothing except a few cars selling clothes and various items from the boot, a pub and an abandoned porn shop.

"I can't see her hanging around here." Ranger muttered. I nodded.

"No, it's a bit too down-market for her. But…what about the pub? If she was angry she may have just gone in for a drink." I suggested. Ranger shook his head.

"I can't see it. This place is a hole."

"We could just see…"

"I'm telling you, she wouldn't be here." Suddenly, there was the sound of crashing and a loud scream from inside the pub.

"Well now we have to check." I muttered.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

Carmella kicked her legs out and flailed her arms as much as she could. Carl had and arm wrapped her waist and arms and another around her thighs. As he tried to carry her out of the pub, she kicked over tables and stools and screamed for help. But no one helped. They just pretended it wasn't happening. She tried to hit him with her purse but couldn't free her arms that much.

"Get the fuck off of me you fucking paedo-wanker!" She shrieked and managed to kick him in the shin. He wobbled slightly, but kept hold of her. The door of the bar crashed open and Steph and her dad ran in. Steph ran over to them, jumped onto Carls back and started hitting him and kicking him the back of the leg.

"My gun! Get my gun out of my bag!" She threw her bag to Ranger, who fished the gun out and pointed it in their direction. Everyone froze.

One of the strangest and most horrible things you could ever experience is standing, holding a gun in one hand with the other arm in a plaster cast and pointing that gun at your only daughter and the woman you love who, coincidently, is carrying someone else's child. If you fire, then theirs is the chance that you could hit either of them. If you don't fire, than you're just stood there helpless and anything could happen. You may as well be holding a banana instead of a gun. Everything moves in slow motion and the sound was muted. Ranger drew back the hammer on the gun and aimed. Carmella's legs kicked up and he shot at the guy's leg. The bullet hit just above his knee and he dropped Carmella. The sound came back and everything went back to normal speed. Steph jumped off his back and stepped back. The guy grimaced and clutched at his leg. He pushed past Ranger and disappeared.

XxX

I ran over to Carmella and crouched down next to her. She was curled up on the floor, sobbing. Ranger ran over to us and pulled out his cell phone. He had a brief conversation with Tank and then crouched next to his daughter.

"Hey Sweetheart. You almost gave me a heart attack." He smiled. She sniffed and kept her face buried in her arms. The bar door opened again and Tank walked in. He stooped down, picked Carmella up and carried her wordlessly and effortlessly out the door with me and Ranger following.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

Thanks to everyone for reading and thank you very much for all the review. Thanks especially to Rangersgirl and Dragen Eyez. I'll try to update soon, but if I don't then Merry Christmas/Hanukah/Everything to everyone! Keep all review coming. Arigato!