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!
We were ushered into the lift by Bobby and taken up to the fourth floor.
"Ranger said that you can have this apartment all to yourself princess. Here's a key card and the key for your dad's apartment on the seventh floor." He handed her the two little gadgets and opened the door to the apartment that I'd stayed in during the whole Junkman incident. Her shopping bags were on the sofa in the centre. She sighed and looked around.
"This is cool. How many fifteen year olds have their own top of the range apartment?" she asked, smiling sadly.
"Only the special ones, Princess." Bobby smiled and kissed her lightly on the forehead.
"I have to go do surveillance, I'm sure Steph can show you everything, can't you Bombshell?" he asked, grinning. I looked up, shocked at hearing my old nickname. He gave Carmella another hug and walked out.
"I guess you want to sleep." I said to Carmella. She nodded and yawned to emphasise the point. I showed her the intercom and the locks on the door. Everything else was pretty much self explanatory. I pulled some blankets out the cupboard and threw them on the couch that was my bed for the night. Carmella emerged from her bedroom wearing some 'Boys are smelly' boxer shorts and a matching tank top.
"G'night Stephie. Thanks for staying tonight. I'm sorry if I disrupted any plans, I didn't think-"
"Carmella it's ok, I had no plans and even if I did, you're more important." God help me, I was growing to think of this kid as a daughter. She walked over to me and gave me a hug.
"Thanks Steph, you're going to be a great mom. I'll see you in the morning." She smiled and walked into her bedroom. I pulled on a new nightshirt and flopped on the couch. I was asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow.
I woke up suddenly to the sound of the door opening. I sat up and saw Ranger walk in. He glanced over to the sofa and saw my head poking over the top. He smiled, walked over and sat on the sofa, lifting my legs onto his lap.
"Thanks for this babe, I really appreciate it. I know Carmella does as well." He smiled weakly. I stroked his hair.
"It's fine, it really is. Carmella is a great kid and I want to help her. She's starting to be like…like my surrogate daughter." I said. Ranger smiled.
"Carmella would have been better off with a mother like you in the first place, but still…maybe next time." He did his wolf grin and I felt my cheeks flush red.
"Yeah…maybe." I grinned back, feeling brave.
"I'm glad you're helping me with Carmella. I don't know what I'd do without you." He said seriously with his eyes full of emotion.
"You'll never have to find out. I promise." I smiled and shifted to give him a hug. As I pulled away, I saw his eyes staring at me, almost as though they were looking right into my soul. I moved closer to him and pressed my lips against his. He was surprised at first, then returned the kiss deeply and passionately. Then Joe's face flashed into my mind. I jerked my head back so fast I almost gave myself whiplash.
"Fuck!" I shouted. Ranger jumped to his feet.
"Jesus Steph, I'm sorry." He exclaimed looking deeply ashamed.
"No, it was totally my fault. I shouldn't have…taken advantage." I blurted out.
"Taken advantage?" he asked, sounding amused in spite of the situation.
"Yeah, you were all…well you looked kinda sad. I'm so sorry."
"It's my fault babe, I shouldn't have let you…take advantage. I know you're with Morelli now and you're pregnant, it was just…force of habit. I better go, tell Carmella-"
"Tell Carmella what?" a sleepy voice asked from the edge of the room. We both turned and saw Carmella stood there in her pyjamas and her hair three times it usual size. She looked form Ranger, to me and then back to Ranger.
"You two both look very…flushed or embarrassed, I'm not sure which. You have the same expression that I had when madre caught me and my ex…ewww, were you two just making out? Oh man, there should be an age limit on that!" she exclaimed and padded into the kitchen.
"Don't be silly Princess, of course we weren't'…making out." Ranger said, sounding falsely cheerful. I fake-laughed along.
"Whatever. If you two want some privacy then I'll go back into my bedroom and pretend my old dad is not making out with a girl who's pregnant with someone else's kid. Just keep the noise down." She called form the kitchen, then emerged holding a glass of water and wearing the same expression my mother used to wear when she was disappointed with me. "Stephanie' she'd say 'you've let me down, you've let your dad and your sister down but most importantly, you've let me down. You should be ashamed of yourself, playing with that Morelli boy. You know what they're like." I shuddered at the flash back. It was strange that now I was living with 'that Morelli boy' and was pregnant. Funny how things worked out.
"Carmella, you have nothing to be worried about. Just go back to bed. I just came to tell you that you and Steph can come up to my apartment for breakfast tomorrow morning around 8. I'll see you in the morning." He said, kissed her lightly on the forehead, smiled at me and walked out. Carmella walked over to the door and put all the locks back in place. I lay back down to go to sleep, but suddenly a glass of water came cascading over my head. I sat up and shrieked. Carmella was stood over the sofa with one hand on her hip and the other holding an empty glass.
"What the hell was that for?" I hissed. She glared at me.
"Neither of you can fool me. I know damn well what you and dad were doing. And I don't approve. I think you and dad would be great together because he obviously adores you and from what I've seen I think that you love him too. But we both know that you're with Joe. So make the choice. Either leave Joe or leave dad alone. I know your intentions are probably good and I happen to like you. This may have been what you used to do, drift between the two, but things are very different now and you have to make a choice, if not for your sake then for the baby's. Take it from someone who knows, a home where the parents are constantly screaming at each other is no fun for anyone involved, least of all the kid. You can still be friends with him but I don't want to see either of you get hurt, I really don't. Personally, I know that dad is a great father and loves kids. I'm also aware of the fact that a lot of women find him highly attractive. Joe is also extremely hot but that's all I know about him. Personally, I'm biased because I desperately crave a stable home and I think that you and dad could give me that. And the baby of course. I know that dad would care for it even if it wasn't his. And before you say anything, I know that because he looked after me, even when it was possible that madre may have been cheating on dad before I was born. It did throw a shadow on my paternity, but dad stood by me. He even said a paternity test wasn't necessary but we had one anyway, just to clear it up. But if your heart lies with Joe then you should just ignore everything I just said because I don't know the guy. I'm sure he's great. Plus he came from a big family so he'd be used to kids. I just think you need to make your choice and you need to make it fast. And just for the record, I wouldn't mind having a step brother or sister, just in case you decide on dad. Ok, I've done a lot of talking and I'm tired so I'm going to sleep. I'll get you a towel and new blankets." She walked to the cupboard and threw me new blankets and pillows and a towel to wipe the sofa with.
"Think about what I said. If you can remember all of it, I know I went on a bit. See you in the morning." Carmella walked back into her room and shut the door, extinguishing the tiny glimmer of light that illuminated the room.
I lay in the dark for ages, thinking about everything that Carmella had just said. She was right-she had said a lot. But it was all so significant…and it all added to the already confusing situation. I had to choose. 'But haven't you already chosen?' a voice in my head asked 'what? I don't know do I?' I replied. 'But you live with Joe. Doesn't that mean you've chosen him?' it made a good point. I'd already chosen Joe. Carmella was just taking things the wrong way. That was it. I'd already chosen Joe.
I was woken the next morning by Carmella clomping around the apartment in the outfit she bought yesterday. I groaned and stood up, stumbling slightly. She looked over at me but didn't smile. I sighed, grabbed some clothes and went into the bathroom to get changed. I pulled on my new long sleeved black top with a scooped neckline and the flared chocolate brown chords. I examined myself in the mirror and smiled. I liked the outfit, but I wondered if it was a bit too young for me. I walked out and Carmella looked up at me.
"You look good, the styles suit you, they're understated but cool." She complimented. I smiled.
"I like it, you don't think it looks too, mutton dressed as lamb?" I asked. Carmella shook her hair.
"No, those clothes are ageless. To a certain limit of course." I nodded and we fell into silence. It was 7:45, 15 minutes till breakfast.
"Listen Steph, I'm sorry about what I said last night. I didn't mean to confuse you or have a go. I was just…confused, I guess. I wasn't expecting you two-"
"I know, I'm sorry. But I have chosen Joe. I live with him and…well; we've always had this relationship. Me and your dad are just friends." Carmella nodded.
"Yeah, I guessed as much." She whispered. I looked at her. The last thing I wanted was to upset anyone, least of all Carmella.
"Sweetie, I don't want to hurt anyone. It's easier, I mean, better, it's better this way. Are you ok with me? I mean-"
"Of course I'm ok with you. I was just making sure that you were ok with your future. You know that me and dad will both be here for you." She smiled and looked up at the clock "Come on; let's go up to the apartment." She unlocked the door and stepped out, then jumped backwards and looked at the floor. There was a wreath on the floor, made up of lilies, ivy and blood red roses. Having been to many viewings at Stiva's, I knew what this was. A funeral wreath. Carmella stared at it in shock, then plucked the card from it. She read it, then yelped and dropped it on the floor as though it had burned her. I picked up the card and looked at it. Written on the card in red ink were the words 'Have a nice life, for what's left of it little angel'. Carmella collapsed on the floor and starting whimpering.
"Oh God" she whispered "This can't be happening" I ran over to the intercom and buzzed Ranger.
"Yo." He answered.
"Ranger I think you need to get down here. Someone sent some flowers…its worse then it sounds. Just get down here." I hung up and ran back to Carmella.
"Carmella what is it? Do you know who sent these?" I asked. She was shaking and sobbing.
"I didn't think he'd know where dad lived. How could he know?" she whispered.
"Who? How could who know?" I asked desperately. Ranger ran in closely followed by Tank. He looked down at Carmella and skidded to her side.
"Baby what is it? What's wr-" he stopped as he saw the flowers. "Who sent these?" he asked coldly. I shrugged.
"They were left outside the door." He looked at Tank.
"Go to the control room. Look back on the surveillance tapes; see if you can find any pictures of anyone coming in to the building. Find out how they got in, how they got out, what time they came in, anything." Tank nodded and silently left the room. Ranger looked at Carmella.
"You know who sent this, don't you?" but it was more of a statement then a question. She nodded and sniffed.
"Who?" Ranger asked. She looked up at him through bleary eyes.
"I can't be sure…it may have just been a…a lucky guess. But…but 'little angel' is what J…James used to call me." she whispered. Ranger growled quietly and stood up. He tapped the intercom.
"Tank…look out for James or any of his associates."
"Crap, it wasn't James was it? How the fuck did he get in the building?"
"We can't be sure but just look for him." He disconnected and walked back to us. I stared questioningly at him.
"Um…who is James?" I asked quietly. Ranger looked at me and sighed.
"He's-"
"He's my step dad. My ex, my mother's husband. This is such a mess. None of this was supposed to happen. Moving here was supposed to be a new start-a whole new life. But he found me. How? Does madre know where you live?" She asked Ranger. Ranger shook his head.
"I don't know how she could. All of the legal things are being done through our lawyers." He sighed "This is so fucked up." Carmella sobbed.
"It's all my fault." She whispered. Ranger crouched down next to her.
"No it's not. This is just…it's just complicated" The intercom buzzed and Tank's voice filled the room.
"Hey boss, you might want to come and look at this."
We all ran up to the control room and found Tank and Bobby staring at a computer screen. We crowded around the monitor. It showed a person walking into the building wearing all black and a balaclava and carrying the wreath. The time in the corner said 7.35. He walked up to the receptionist and stun-gunned them.
"That was twenty minutes ago. Twenty minutes. It would have taken him about five minutes to get in and out again. So he might have still been in the building when I found the wreath." Carmella whispered
"Yeah, only there's no footage of this person leaving." Tank replied. Ranger stared at him.
"That can't be right. Have you checked the tapes from all the exits?" Tank nodded.
"Of course I have, we've checked everything. The only room where there's no camera is…"
"Fuck!" Ranger shouted and took off out of the room and down the corridor. Carmella grabbed a gun off the table and ran after him. I stared in shock at Tank.
"Which room?" I asked. He stood and made sure his gun was loaded, then he handed me a gun from a cabinet.
"Carmella's apartment." He replied and we both ran after Ranger and Carmella.
They were stood against the wall on either side of the apartment door, guns drawn and both looking very threatening. Tank looked at Carmella's outfit and shook his head in disbelief.
"Christ Carmella, it's the middle of November!" he exclaimed. She grinned
"What? You don't like it?" she asked innocently. I could see his point, a mini skirt and a halter neck top, both black of course, were probably not the most practical of clothes to be wearing in this situation, let alone this season. She stuck her key card into the lock and the door swung open. Ranger jumped in first, then Tank, then Carmella and me at the back, praying I wouldn't need to use this gun. I looked down at it; a Glock. Great. I didn't even know how to use a Glock. Oh well, if it came to the worst then I could just throw it at my assailant like I did with Homer Ramos. Although that had resulted in me being shot…anyway, now was not the time to dwell. I heard a scream from Carmella's bedroom and, being closest to the door, ran in. Carmella was being held in place by a guy dressed totally in black and wearing a balaclava. He had her arm twisted behind her back and a knife to her throat.
"Why me?" she sobbed "Why couldn't dad or Tank searched this room? Why am I always the one who gets grabbed by the psycho?"
"Don't worry, it used to be me. Women just have a damsel in distress air about them. You'd never catch your dad or Tank in this kind of situation."
"In fairness, that's probably because they'd have shot this guy three times before he could even get close enough to knife them." She reasoned. I nodded.
"That is true."
"Excuse me" the intruder growled "but could I bring the attention back to me?"
"Sorry" Carmella and I murmured. Tank and Ranger ran into the room and stood either side of me.
"Let her go" Ranger growled
"This is nothing to do with you Mañoso, this is between me and the girl." The intruder hissed. Carmella whined and the knife got pressed harder to her neck. A little trickle of blood rolled down her neck and towards her top. In all honesty, she looked more worried about getting blood on her new top then she did about her life. The intruder started to edge towards the open window and stepped out onto the mini balcony, still keeping a firm grasp on Carmella.
"I'll let your whore of a daughter go this time, but if you pull anything I'll be back. With a bigger knife. And a gun." He added, obviously new to the whole threatening thing. I could see Carmella desperately trying to hold in laughter and probably a snide remark. He loosened his grip on Carmella and she spun around and pulled his balaclava off. He bellowed, covered his face with his hands and jumped off the balcony. We all ran to look over the edge. He had landed in a bush and was struggling to get out, with one hand still firmly covering his face. Ranger went back in and intercom-ed for assistance, but the guy managed to wiggle out the bush and took off down the street.
"Did you see his face?" Tank asked Carmella. She shook her head.
"No, he was frantic to cover it. Maybe he has a face deformity, like the Phantom of the Opera or something. That would make sense. But what would the Phantom of the Opera be doing in Trenton?" she mused. We all gave her the look generally reserved for the mad.
"Yes, that is the real subject in question here." Tank muttered and climbed back into the room.
"No, it can't have been the Phantom; he was born in like, 1860 or sometime like that. He'd be dead by now. Plus, he lives in Paris." Carmella announced.
"Yes, that's why it couldn't be the Phantom." Ranger muttered sarcastically.
"Well, at least that's one suspect off the list." Tank smiled, obviously trying not to laugh. Carmella was a lot like me when I was a kid, logic escaped her. The fact that the Phantom lived in Paris was the reason it couldn't have been him, not the fact that he was a fictional character…but for Carmella, anything was possible. She smiled absently.
"I didn't recognize the voice before anyone asks. But something struck me as odd. I'm guessing we all picked up that he wasn't professional but there was something else. He told dad that it was nothing to do with him and it was just between me and whoever he was, but then when he said he was going to let me go, he addressed dad despite the fact he said it had nothing to do with him."
"Well spotted, Batgirl." I smiled. Ranger nodded.
"Yeah, that is weird. Also, he called you my 'whore daughter'. Who else calls you that?" Recognition spread across Carmella's face.
"I didn't notice…but she wouldn't-would she?" she asked. Ranger shook his head.
"She wouldn't know how, but you know who else knows she calls you that?" Carmella smiled.
"Of course, that was all she called me at the family dinner at thanksgiving, he would have picked up on it." Me and Tank were exchanging confused glances. It was nice that I wasn't the only one out of the loop…for once.
"Excuse me? But who are we talking about? Who calls you a whore?" I asked. Carmella smiled grimly.
"My Grandma."
"You're Grandma? She does not sound like a nice lady."
"She's not, she's an evil witch." Ranger growled.
"I'm taking it you mean Eva's mom, because I've met your mother and there is nothing evil about her." Tank grinned. Ranger almost smiled and nodded.
"Yeah, Eva's mom hates me and Carmella. She says Carmella is a disgusting whore-child of evil."
"Yes, Nanna Castillo is very poetic." Carmella grinned. I was shocked.
"But…why would anyone say that about their family?" I asked.
"Because Carmella was conceived out of wedlock. We, that is Eva and I, had no intention of marriage but when we discovered Eva was pregnant our families, more Eva's then mine, pushed us into marriage 'for the child's sake'. Eva's mother thought I'd taken advantage of her daughter, despite the fact that Eva is three years older then me. And she thinks Carmella is the manifestation of evil because of the whole conceived out of wedlock thing."
"Plus I threatened to turn her bald using black magic at the last family reunion." Carmella grinned.
"You didn't?!" I asked, both shocked and amazed.
"I did. She called me a whore one time too many. So I threatened to turn her bald and then pointed out that she must have the counter curse somewhere in her evil stash, being a witch and all. She hasn't spoken directly to me since." She and Ranger laughed. I could see the corners to Tank's mouth twitching. I couldn't believe how mean this old lady was. Tank threw an arm around Carmella's shoulders.
"Ok CM, you're not to badly shook up are you?" she shook her head "Good, because you need to keep busy so you're going to help out in the control room. Any objections?"
"I'd rather go on a bust and kick some ass." She muttered "But I'm guessing that's not about to happen." Tank nodded.
"Correct little one, not a chance in hell."
The rest of the day was spent 'helping' Carmella in the office. By helping, I mean we built a fortress out of boxes and various other objects and defended it using staple guns. It was really quite fun. After Tank confiscated our staple guns, we built a neat catapult which was demolished by Bobby and Lester wearing bins on their heads and invading the fortress. Though we guarded it well, we didn't have enough fire power to overpower the intruders. Then Ranger walked in, just as the evil Lester and Bobby were declaring victory by dancing and making obscene noises. Carmella saw him and folded her arms.
"Honestly you two, you are so immature. Stephie and I are trying to work and you are just making that constant din. You need to grow up." She scolded, very convincingly. Bobby and Lester took the bins of their heads and glared. I could see Ranger grinning.
"Nice try sweetheart, but you forgot about the surveillance cameras."
"Darn, foiled." She grinned back. I smiled and leaned against the desk.
"I hate to break this up but I should be heading home, my parents are expecting me for dinner." I announced.
"Oh yeah dad, what's for dinner? I am starving. These guys wouldn't give us proper food; they just kept trying to feed us tofu crap. I mean tofu; I ask you, it's not even food. It's just processed junk with some extra crap thrown in. A growing girl, such as me, needs fries and pineapple upside down cake!" I grinned and nodded and nodded in agreement.
"Well, do you want to come? I'm sure my mom wouldn't mind. Joe's working late so…well I need a ride home, so I guess it'd kill two birds with one stone. Though Ranger has met my family so…" But Carmella jumped in.
"No that'd be great, I'm sure it'd beat rabbit food ten fold! Come on dad, it'll be fun." Ranger sighed.
"I suppose so. As long as you Grandmother doesn't shoot anything. Or start checking me out. Or make obscene comments about my…various parts of my anatomy." I couldn't guarantee any of these things. A week ago, me, Grandma and Valerie had had an in depth conversation about how fine Ranger's body was. Carmella snorted
"You sure think a lot of yourself if even old ladies can't resist you." She grinned.
"True, but you haven't met Stephanie's grandmother. She makes Nanna Castillo look like a sweet, sane old lady." Ranger muttered. Carmella gulped and I couldn't help but grin. It'd be fun to watch Ranger squirm for a couple of hours.
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Thanks to everyone for reading and thank you very much for all the review. Thanks for reading. Keep all the reviews coming. Any comments or suggestions are always welcome. Arigato!