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!

The hearing room was just like a board room. There was a huge mahogany table in the centre surrounded by chairs with one small desk at the side of the room. I looked quizzically at Ranger.

"This is just the hearing room; it's more of a discussion in here. The actual verdict will be passed somewhere else." He explained, without needing to hear my question. We sat down on one side of the table, Eddie first, then Ranger, then Carmella, then me and finally Tank at the end. Carmella sighed and looked at me.

"This is so brutal and unnecessary. If madre would just get over herself then this wouldn't be happening." I patted her shoulder.

"Don't dwell on it. It'll all be over soon." I said softly. She nodded and smiled. The door swung open and Eva walked in, followed by two men. One of the guys looked like he was only about 18 and was lanky with red hair and pale skin; I'm guessing it was James. He blew a kiss at Carmella and licked his lips. Carmella raised an eyebrow at him and slowly gave him the finger. The other guy was about the same height as Ranger with the same shade of skin as him and a marine buzz cut but was a lot fatter the Ranger with no muscles. Ranger and Carmella stared at him in shock. Eva smiled.

"I have new representation, this is Enrique Mañoso. Ricardo, I believe you've met before." She hissed vindictively. Ranger glared at Enrique.

"You bastard." He hissed. Enrique shrugged.

"Ric, this is nothing personal, a job's a job. Let's just get this over with." He replied. Tank was frowning. Carmella looked murderous.

"¡Te gordo cabron!" She growled.

"Carmella…" Ranger said in a warning voice. Tank was smiling. I looked at him wanting to know what she said. He leaned closer and whispered.

"She called him a fat bastard." Now I was smiling.

"Who is he?" I whispered. Tank frowned again.

"He's Ranger's second cousin. The bastard. Money means more to him then family. He resents the fact that Ranger's successful and has friends and family. Enrique doesn't think you can have both." He explained. I nodded and leaned back in my chair. Enrique sat opposite Eddie, Eva opposite Ranger and James sat opposite Carmella. He studied me for a few second, then grinned and winked. I felt my lip curl in disgust, James was ok looking but there was something extremely…creepy about him. Carmella glared at him. He simply smiled back and held up his left hand. A golden wedding band sat on his ring finger. Carmella rolled her eyes and looked at Ranger.

"So are we going to get started?" she asked.

"We're waiting for the court official." He replied. She sighed and slumped forwards with her face resting in her hands. The door swung open and a woman in her thirties wearing a black suit and carrying a suitcase walked in, followed by a man who looked to be in his mid twenties. The man sat at the desk at the side and pulled out a notepad, pen and personal tape recorder out of his suitcase. The woman sat at the head of the table and looked around at everyone, smiling. Her eyes locked on me and Tank.

"You two are not members of the family are you? Is everyone present ok with you being here?" she asked us.

"Carmella invited them to be here. I have no objections." Ranger said. Eva glared.

"I wasn't aware they would be here, I'm not sure I agree." She stated.

"If Mrs Bernards does not agree then I shall have to insist-"

"If she doesn't agree then I shall have to point out that Mr Bernards is not actually a member of the family and that he to should have made sure we all agreed to him being present." Ranger said darkly. Eva sent him a withering look.

"Eva, angel, I don't want to miss this." James whispered to his wife. She nodded.
"I have no objections to those two being here." She muttered darkly. Carmella smiled victoriously. James glared at her.

"Ok, so everyone here is ok with everyone else?" The official stated.

"Well I wouldn't say that we're all 'ok' with each other but we will put up with each other's presence, just try and make this as short as possible." Carmella said.

"Fine, I am Mrs Phillips. I'd like for this to stay as civil as possible and for everyone to keep to the facts." Carmella snorted with laughter.

"Yeah, good luck with that." She muttered. Ranger smiled grimly. James actually laughed out loud.

"Right then. At the present time, Carmella Maria Conchita Mañoso is legally in the custody of Miss Eva Castillo or as she is currently known, Mrs Eva Bernards. However, Carmella is currently living with Mr Ricardo Carlos Mañoso because she ran away from her home with Mrs Bernards. Mr Mañoso wishes to be granted full custody of Carmella. Now Carmella wishes to continue living with Mr Mañoso as she has been doing for the past three weeks. However, a number of things concern me. The first is that Carmella has not yet been enrolled in a school."

"I'm starting at Trenton High school on Monday and I am really looking forward to it." Carmella argued. Mrs Phillips looked up from her notes.

"Really? The school have accepted you half way through the term? That is very…lenient of them." Carmella shrugged.

"Everyone has to get an education. I'm sure the school is sympathetic to that." She replied coolly. Mrs Phillips stared at her for a second and then nodded.

"Very well. Anyway as I was saying, there are a number of things that concern me. The second is your occupation Mr Mañoso. What is it that you do exactly?" She asked in a superior tone. Ranger studied her.

"I'm a fugitive apprehension agent and I own my own security company." He answered.

"By fugitive apprehension agent, you mean that you are a 'bounty hunter'" She stated. Ranger nodded.

"Yes, that is another name for it." He said glancing at Eva who was smiling maliciously.

"Personally Mrs Phillips, I am not all that comfortable with my only child living with a man who dodges bullets for a living." She said vindictively. Ranger glared. There was a lot of glaring going on. Carmella scowled at her mother.

"Well it's a good thing it's not up to you then, isn't it?" She said. Eva smiled sweetly.

"Oh darling, you've just been confused by all the nasty lies that your father has told you about me. I know that deep down, you know that I only have your best interests at heart." She said with a butter-wouldn't-melt expression on her face.

"Really? Is that why you said that the second you got me back then you'd send me off to military school?" Carmella asked. Eva stared and searched for a response.

"I…you must have imagined that." She said.

"No I didn't, Dad and Steph heard you say it as well, didn't you?" Carmella asked. Ranger and I nodded.

"Yeah, I did." Ranger said.

"I heard her say it as well." I stated. Mrs Phillips nodded and shot a superior look at me, then turned back to Eva.

"Military school is a bit drastic Mrs Bernards and I must remind you that I expect the whole truth to be told in this room. Why would you send Carmella to military school?" She asked. Eva sighed.

"I want Carmella to get the most out of life. She's obviously a disturbed girl, you only need to see her previous school report to know that, but she is my daughter and I love her very much. However, if she carries on the way she's going then she may end up in jail, or worse, by the time she's 20 and I'd hate to have to live with the fact that I could've prevented her fate. I just want her to live her life as full as she can and for her to be happy." She smiled sadly, then asked "Mrs Phillips, do you have any children?" Mrs Phillips nodded.

"Yes, I have a daughter."

"Then surely you can understand how important their lives are. You must see that I only want Carmella to be happy."

"I must object ma'am, this case is about Carmella. It must be judged on facts and evidence that relates to Carmella. It is not about the personal feelings of the officials." Eddie said indignantly

"That is correct Mr Sanchez; Mrs Bernards please stick to points that are related to Carmella or Mr Mañoso if you please." Mrs Phillips commanded. Eva nodded.

"Of course, I am deeply sorry Mrs Phillips." Carmella rolled her eyes and sighed. Mrs Phillips flicked through her notes and settled on a set of documents.

"It says here that you visited the hospital near your home in Miami four times in the space of three months earlier in the year, twice for cracked ribs, once for concussion and once for treatment for cuts and bruising. It says that you needed stitches." She said to Carmella who nodded.

"Yes, I have a scar across my shoulder that will probably stay for life."

"Yes it says that in the notes, a scar measuring approximately four inches." Mrs Phillips read. Carmella nodded wordlessly.

"Now Carmella, can you tell me how these injuries occurs?" She asked.

"Of course I can. The first time for one cracked rib was a result of James, or should I say, Mr Bernards, punched me in the stomach because I was ten minutes late coming home. The second time when I had two cracked ribs was from being thrown down the stairs by Mr Bernards because I didn't make it into the cheerleading squad. The third time for concussion was when Mr Bernards slammed my head against a kitchen counter because I only got a B in English when I was predicted an A and the final time when I was treated for the scar and bruises was when Mr Bernards tried to rape me and beat me up when I resisted and cut my shoulder with a broken bottle. I managed to fight him off and took myself to the hospital for treatment. That was the day I left home. I also broke Mr Bernards' nose in self defence." Carmella explained. I could see Ranger flinching at the mention of each incident and when she talked about the rape, I saw him clenching his fist, restraining himself for leaping across the table and throttling James. Mrs Phillips looked stunned.

"But you never filed a police report?" She asked. Carmella stared at her.
"And where would I have stayed? Where could I have gone to be safe? If I'd filed a report he'd have gotten worse. If I left he might have started on Madre and, much as I dislike her, I wouldn't wish that kind of treatment on anyone." Tears were streaming down Eva's face, but she looked angry. James and Ranger both looked murderous.

"You're lying. You're not right Carmella, you are just jealous because James left you for me. You hate that he dumped you and this is your twisted way of revenge. You see, this is why you need help. It's because you don't think straight darling. I want to help you but you have to admit you have a problem." Eva said, trying to sound sympathetic, but the anger in her voice was hard to mask.

"How the hell can you say that? What is wrong with you? Have you seen the scars Eva? The scars that were left on our daughter by your sick toyboy. How can you bare to live with him, knowing what he did to her? You talk about wanting to help her but all you want to do is get at me and get rid of her. He tried to rape her, even though he was with you. Now he's just sat there, feeling proud that he might actually have gotten away with it and you are defending him above your daughter. Carmella isn't the one who's not right, you are!" Ranger shouted. Carmella put a hand on his shoulder.

"Calm down, you and I both know that James is a guarro!" She smiled. Ranger looked at her and smiled slightly.

"How dare you! He is your step father and you should show some respect for him." Eva shouted.

"Have respect for the man that dumped me because I wouldn't sleep with him, dated my mother because she would, sent me to hospital four times and tried to rape me? I don't think so. I think I'm gonna have problems respecting him when in all honesty he is scum!" Carmella shouted back. I turned to Tank.

"What's a guarro?" I asked. He smiled.

"It means 'ugly fucker'." I smiled slightly as well. James glared at me; he probably didn't understand what 'guarro' meant. I wasn't about to tell him. Mrs Phillips looked shocked.

"Can we try and stay civilised and speak English please?" she called out. Carmella leant back in her chair and glared at her.

"Yeah whatever." She muttered. Mrs Phillips picked up another page of notes.

"Right, Mr and Mrs Bernards, you both have steady jobs don't you?" She asked. They both nodded.

"Yes, I'm a plumber and my wife is a hairdresser and manicurist." James spoke in a very slimy tone that almost reminded me of Vinnie. Mrs Phillips nodded.

"Those are both respectable jobs. I take it that means you are stable financially and would be able to support Carmella if she was returned to your care." She said. James nodded.

"Of course, and we would provide a normal family life and atmosphere with two parents." Ranger snorted.

"You will never be Carmella's parent, you sick bas-"

"Dad, ignore him." Carmella whispered. Ranger nodded leant against the arm of his chair.

"You said 'if' she is returned to their care. You cannot possibly be considering giving them custody, not after hearing about the injury he's done to Carmella. He tried to rape her. He put her in hospital. If you let them keep Carmella, then you're as good as signing her death warrant." Ranger said to the official.

"Mr Mañoso, it is not a fact that Mr Bernards inflicted all those harms to Carmella." She replied. James cleared his throat.

"Despite what Mr Mañoso says, we could provide a happy atmosphere for Carmella. She would have a normal family life. We could help her get better, mentally. She could see a psychiatrist and try to clean herself up she could be happy and live her life to its potential. It makes sense, and it would be healthier then living with a man who risks death every time he goes out to work. Psychologically, it could mess Carmella up further, waiting each day to see whether or not her dad would come home alive. It makes sense to save her that mental trauma. Already while she's been living with her dad, he's been hit by a car and taken to hospital and I also discovered that only yesterday, the car she'd been driven in exploded, only a few feet away her. That is not a safe environment for a growing girl." James said, smiling in a sickening way. Carmella growled

"Eres muy puta".

"That means 'you pointless twat'" Tank told me. James smiled sympathetically at her.

"Oh Little Angel, deep down you know that it would be better for you to live with your mom and I. You're just infatuated with the glamorous idea of your dad that you've built in your head. I know that you might think it's cool to have a bounty hunter for a dad, but I'm sure you'd only have to ask his friends to realise how worrying it can be, knowing that he's out there, chasing down dangerous criminals. I mean let's ask his friend here" he turned to me "Don't you worry about him?" I stared into the cold green eyes and smiled.

"No. I don't at all. Ran- Ricardo is the best. I've known him a long time and he's never given me any reason to worry or not to trust his judgement. I've worked with him and I have never felt safer. He looks after the people close to him so no, I don't worry about him." I replied. Carmella beamed at me.

"Um, what exactly do you do? For your job I mean." James asked. I smiled.

"I'm a fugitive apprehension agent." I replied. James stared at me.

"But…you're a woman." He said in disbelief.

"Yes, I had noticed." I replied.

"So Miss…" Mrs Phillips addressed me.

"Ms Plum" I told her.

"Ms Plum, you say that you feel safe in Mr Mañoso's presence, despite the fact you do a high risk job?" She said, obviously trying to clarify it in her own head.

"Of course, as I said, Mr Mañoso is the best. He takes care of Carmella and it is obvious that he loves her and will look after her." I said to her. She nodded and jotted something down. Eva and James both glared at me. I ignored their looks and instead turned to Carmella, who was smiling at me.

"I wonder if Ms Plum should be allowed to voice her opinion, this is really nothing to do with her." Eva said in a strained voice.

"In that case, Mr Bernards shouldn't be allowed to voice his opinion." Ranger growled.

"This has everything to do with James, he is my husband and therefore is a part of mine and Carmella's life."

"He's a woman beating sick man who tried to rape a 15 year old."

"Those are just allegations made by Carmella who is mentally unstable." James hissed.

"¡Vete a follar!" Carmella shouted at him.

"'Go fuck yourself'" Tank whispered to me. I looked up at him.

"Excuse me?" I said indignantly.

"That's what Carmella said to him, just so you know." He smiled "Sorry if you misinterpreted that." I rolled my eyes and looked back at the argument that was escalating.

"Isn't it obvious that Carmella does not want to go back to them?" Ranger said to Mrs Phillips.

"Carmella is a teenager. Teenager's rebel, it's only natural. She may not necessarily know what is right for her." She replied. "Anyway, we are not getting anywhere and it's been over half an hour. This hearing is adjourned; you will get the next hearing date through your lawyers. It may be as little as a week. Goodbye." She stood and walked out with the man who'd been jotting down the minutes of the hearing following her. The five of us stood as well and walked out.

In the entrance hall, Carmella was stressing.

"Did you hear all that shit they were coming out with? Argh, they are the manifestations of evil! They're not natural." She declared as she paced the hall and waved her arms.

"Calm down CM, it's not that bad. I think that judge woman was swayed by the whole hospital thing." Tank said comfortingly.

"Ok, I'll call you Ric. Don't worry about a thing. They can't possibly win." Eddie said, clapped Ranger on the shoulder and walked away.

"I need the toilet." Tank muttered and shuffle off.

"Steph, I need to talk to you." Ranger said to me, sounding secretive.

"Ok, give me the keys and I'll go wait in the car." Carmella sighed. Ranger threw her the keys and she walked out. He looked at me and smiled.

"I want to thank you, you were a real help in there. I'll have to remember to call on you if I ever need a character witness." He smiled.

"Everything I said in there was true. You make me feel safe." I smiled back.

"That's ironic, because the only time I'm worried that I may be in danger is when I go on a bust with you." He grinned, 200-watt smile, blow your socks off smile. I pushed his shoulder playfully.

"Hey, that's not funny. I do my best!" I exclaimed.

"That's all I ask babe." He smiled and tucked my hair behind my ear. Then he wrapped an arm around my waist and lowered his mouth to mine. Oh boy.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

Carmella walked towards the car park, humming and swinging the keys around a finger. As she walked past an alley, a hand shot out, grabbed her and pulled her into the darkness. She was thrown against a wall and an arm was pressed against her throat. She looked into those familiar green eyes.

"Get off me James." She coughed. He smiled and put his face closer to hers.

"You made me look like a real scumbag in there. I didn't like it."

"I told the truth." She croaked. He nuzzled his face into her neck and nipped her.

"You are a stupid little bitch." He hissed.

"I am not scared of you." She lied.

"Well you should be if you had any brains. But then, I guess you don't. Going on about how I tried to rape you, that weren't clever. You made me seem like an idiot. Like I can't do anything right, can't even rape someone. Maybe I should make up for it." He slipped his free hand up her skirt. Carmella tried to struggle and get away but he was pinning her in place with his body. He took his hand out of her skirt and ripped open her blouse. The buttons scattered across the alley. Carmella whimpered and tried to hit him, but he had her arms pinned to her sides.

"Please don't." She whispered. James leered at her.

"You better not try and file a report with the police. You were right, I'd hurt you so much more if you did, and you wouldn't be safe, no matter where you went." He crushed his mouth against hers and forced his tongue into her mouth. Carmella whined, then she bit down on his tongue, hard. James shouted and punched her in the stomach. Carmella whimpered and released her jaw. James glared at her.

"You are going to regret that, you stupid little whore. This is going to so much worse for you." He said and slipped his hand back up her skirt.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

Ranger stood slowly and smiled at me. I smiled back then looked up and saw Tank stood behind a pillar, shifting from one foot to the other and looking embarrassed. I smiled.

"It's ok Tank, you can come out now." He smiled sheepishly and walked over to us.

"Right then, ready to rock and roll?" He asked. Ranger nodded.

"Yeah, Carmella's already in the car. Let's go." We walked out the hall and down the street to the car park.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

James pressed his hand against Carmella's mouth.

"I'm going to make you suffer, you little bitch." He whispered in her ear. She saw Stephie, Tank and her dad walk past the entrance of the alley. A little hope came back to her. She tried to call out to them but James' hand was stopping her from making a noise and even if it hadn't been there, her throat was so dry she wasn't sure she could have made a noise. They disappeared out of view. Carmella felt tears fill her eyes. This wasn't happening. She'd left all this in Florida. She whimpered slightly and James stared at her.

"You're scared now, aren't you? I can see it in your eyes." He smiled softly. "Don't fret little angel, I'll go easy on you. Actually, that's a lie. It'll be hell-for you. I've been waiting for this for so long. I went out with you for a year and nothing! I got nothing from you! You…you siren! You filled my head with ideas; you made me believe that I'd get some. Now I'm taking what I'm owed."

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

There was no one in the car. Carmella was nowhere to be seen. I looked up at Ranger.

"Well…where is she?"

"I don't know, she should be here. She would have come straight here because she knows I'd get worried if she wasn't here. Where is she?"

"Ric, you know I don't want to say this, but what if James got her?" Tank said quietly. Ranger paled.

"Ok, Tank search the courthouse. Steph, we'll double back and see if she stopped in a shop or a café." I nodded. Tank ran on, while Ranger and I looked at all the shops and café's opposite. Ranger went over to the opposite street while I patrolled the areas around the courthouse.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

He grabbed the material either side of the slit on her skirt and ripped it up, so the was only a centimetre of material at the waistband holding the skirt together. Carmella whimpered and tried to fight him off, but it was useless. He kissed her neck roughly and slid the jacket off her shoulder. He gazed down at the scar that ran the length of her shoulder and traced a finger over it.

"That's an impressive scar indeed. I'm proud of that."

"You're sick." She spat. He smiled and ran a hand over her bra and across her toned stomach. She shuddered under his touch.

"This is going to happen Carmella. You can't stop it because you are just a weak little girl. You may as well just try to enjoy it."

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

I walked back to the car park from the court house. I hadn't found Carmella and since neither Ranger nor Tank had called to say they'd found her, I was guessing they hadn't had any luck. I was walking past one of the alleys, when I heard a muffled shout. I turned and looked down the dark passage. There was a man with red hair, holding a woman against the wall. It looked like James. He shifted to the side and I saw who the girl was. Carmella.

"Hey!" I shouted. James looked around and stared at me. He had one hand over Carmella's mouth and that other hand on his zipper. He took a step back and Carmella kneed him in the groin. He winced and doubled over. Carmella ran up to me and tears started falling down her face. She had red marks on her neck and shoulder and there were no buttons on her shirt. Her skirt was ripped all the way up the leg and her jacket was nowhere to be seen. She was shivering. I wasn't surprised, she was stood there in her bra and a barely there skirt. I slipped my jacket off and handed it to her. She slipped it on and did it up to cover her stomach. She sniffed and looked at me.

"Dad'll go nuts when he sees me like this." She smiled weakly. I wrapped my arms around her.

"Are you ok?" I whispered. She shrugged.

"Not really, I thought…if you hadn't turned up…" She gulped and sobbed.

"Don't think about it." I whispered "Come on, your dad and Tank are going mad looking for you." She nodded.

"It hasn't really been my week, has it?" She smiled. I laughed softly and pulled out my cell phone. I selected Ranger's number and waited for him to answer.

"Yo" he muttered.

"Hey, I've got Carmella. We'll meet you back at the car." I told him then hung up and turned to Carmella. "So, what are you going to do? Are you going to press charges? This could really help the case." I pointed out. She shook her head.

"No, he said he'd hurt me worse if I pressed charges. And I don't think the courts would believe that he'd tried to rape me again. I'd be the girl who cried rape. It'd be a stupid thing for him to do and they'd think that it was just me and that I really was screwed up in the head. And I'm thinking we shouldn't tell dad." She said. I looked at her.

"What? Why not? You can't keep this from him."

"No I know that, but if we tell him then he'll go nuts and try to kill James. Then everyone will think he's crazy, lock him up and I'll have to go back to madre."

"I know that's true, but he needs to know. He's not an idiot; he won't kill James while the case is still happening. But he has got to know. Besides, how else would you explain your outfit?" I smiled. She nodded.

"Will you tell him? I don't think I could." She asked. I nodded and smiled.

"Yeah of course. Do you have the car keys?" Carmella held them up and dropped them into my hand. Tank and Ranger were both leaning against the car, looking very worried. Ranger jogged up to us and wrapped his arms around Carmella, kissing her lightly on the forehead.

"Where the hell have you been? Why are you wearing Steph's jacket? What happened to you skirt?" He asked, examining her.

"Let's get in the car, it's probably better to talk in there." I suggested. We climbed in the car and Tank started the engine.

"OK, what happened?" Ranger asked as we rolled out the lot.

"Well, I was walking to the car when someone grabbed me and pulled me down the alley. It was James." She explained, then looked to me and nodded. I put a hand on her arm.

"He tried to rape her." I said softly. Tank swerved and almost hit a tree.

"What?" Ranger shouted "That fucking bastard, I will kill him. I will rip his head off his body!" Carmella looked at me.

"You see? This is why I said not to tell him." She murmured. Ranger was taking deep breaths.

"We have to report it." He said finally.

"No, we have no evidence except my word. I've already said he tried to rape me once before. No one would believe me if I said he'd done it again. Everyone would believe I'd made it up. And if you harm him then they'll say that you're unfit to look after me, plus you'd probably get locked up. It's not worth it. Of course, once you've got custody then I will hunt him down and pulverise him. Until then, we can't do anything." She replied "For now, he's won."

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

Thanks for all the reviews, I really appreciate them! I hope you enjoyed this instalment and please review! I know that Carmella's having a rough time but it'll get better soon(ish). Arigato!