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! Oh, and I'd also like to say now that the idea of 'The Night Circus' is that of my friend, the real-life Amanda! She's fab and talented, so thanks Mandy, love ya!

They parked the cars around the back of the club and then walked around to the front. The bouncers looked over at Michael, nodded and ushered them in, cutting the queue. A red velvet curtain was draped elegantly across the entrance. Michael swept it back and ushered them all in. He grinned at their amazed expressions.

"Welcome to the night circus."

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

Ranger turned to give his men the brief before they got in the cars.

"It'll be dark and chances are there will be a lot of kids there. Don't injure anyone unnecessarily; we don't want any law suits. Just go in, get our guys and get out. You've all got pictures of the guys we're after. Let's roll." He instructed. They all nodded and climbed in their cars. Lester was grinning; he loved the big gang busters' type of apprehension, so much more professional.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

Carmella looked around in amazement at the podiums, poles and cages. The whole club was black, with panels of deep purple velvet billowing down from the ceiling. Marilyn Manson 'Tainted Love' was blasting out of the speakers. She walked over to the bar.

"Vodka and Coke." She yelled over the music. The bar tender, who was wearing a phantom mask, nodded and handed her the drink. She handed a couple of dollars in return and walked back to her friends. Michael had gone to talk to some friends of his, who looked very shifty. After dancing on the floor for about twenty five minutes and three vodka's, Mandy and Carmella climbed up onto one of the podiums. They'd been dancing on the platform for almost ten minutes, when Carmella saw Harry stood in the corner with Michael's friends. They were hunched over, trying to be inconspicuous. Carmella frowned and hopped off the podium and followed them as they walked out into the lobby. When she finally caught up, she saw Harry smoking the fumes from a substance the other guys were holding on a bent spoon and heating with a lighter. In Miami, she'd seem kids getting completely fucked up on heroin and ending up in hospital or the mortuary. She walked over to Harry and shoved him with both hands. He stumbled and looked up at her.

"What the fuck is wrong with you?" She shouted. He blinked dozily.

"Nothing, what the fuck is wrong with you? Do you want some or something?" He murmured. Carmella shook her head.

"You're a fucking idiot. I thought you had more sense then this. Don't be so fucking stupid. We're going back in the club." She stated, grabbed his upper arm and pulled him back into the club, still fuming.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

The men got out their cars and walked towards the club entrance. The bouncers looked at them and stepped back, wise men. Ranger indicated which way they should all go. They nodded and separated, mingling with the crowd. A girl who didn't look much older then Carmella stood in front of Ranger, grinning stupidly.

"Hey big guy, want to have some fun?" She slurred. He walked around her, looking for the drug dealing scum. His radio suddenly crackled into life.

"Hey boss, we think we've got eyeball, a group of teenagers and one of our guys is with them. We're by the podiums." Tank told him. Ranger confirmed and made his way towards the podiums.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

"You're not my fucking mother Carmella, you can't control me." Harry protested.

"I refuse to watch you fuck up your life." She stated. He grinned.

"Ah, I didn't think you cared." She glared, then put her hand in his front pocket, making him grin even more. She pulled out a packet of white powder.

"You're not getting this back." She told him. He glared at her. Then they were tackled to the ground by two large men dressed in black.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

Ranger found Tank and the others watching the group from a distance. He could see a girl holding a packet of white powder to a guy. He didn't think they matched the guys suspected, but it was hard to see in the dark light. At his nod, they pushed their way through the crowd and tackled three of the guys in the group and the girl and boy they'd seen with the coke. Bobby grabbed the heroin off the girl as he held her to the floor and stuck it in his pocket. Ranger hauled the guy to his feet and looked in shock at his daughter's friend, Harry. The girl was shouting and cursing at Bobby. He pulled her to her feet and all the guys mouths dropped open.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

Carmella looked in shock at her father, then registered the look of shock and disgust on his face. Then she remembered the heroin.

"Is that yours?" Her dad growled dangerously.

"Oh shit. I can see how this may look, but I…I don't do drugs. Honestly, I don't. I…" She trailed off. She didn't want to get Harry in trouble, but her father looked murderous. She quickly shut her mouth; this was a bitch of a situation to be in. She'd just made up with Harry and really didn't want him to be arrested, but then she was also sorting things out with her dad and didn't want to jeopardize things with him. But family was forever; her dad would always forgive her. She sighed as he continued to glare.

"Yeah, it's mine." She sighed. Her dad looked murderous.

"No it's not! Carmella I appreciate it but you are not taking that wrap for this. It's mine, but I wasn't dealing." Harry shouted over the music.

"The hell it is, that was my heroin!" Dan yelled.

"No it was mine!" Mandy giggled. Ranger growled dangerously again.

"Then I have no choice. You're all under arrest." He stated. Carmella felt her mouth drop in shock. She really hadn't expected her dad to actually arrest them.

"Dad you can't, it was mine. The others are trying to cover for me." She shrieked at her father as she felt Bobby pulling a pair of cuffs onto her wrists. Her dad stared at her and then sighed.

"This is fucking unbelievable. No Bobby, leave the cuffs on. Get the boy as well. The rest of you are free to go." He said. Tank, Lester and a few other guys let go of her other friends. Carmella wiggled her shoulders.

"Hey, what about us?" She asked. Her father stared at her.

"You're still under arrest." He said blankly. Tank led the way through the club with Harry and Ranger behind him, then Carmella and Bobby and the remaining merry men. They were pushed into the back of one of her dad's SUV's and it was then that the stabbing pain really hit Carmella in the stomach, apparently being thrown to the floor and jumped on wasn't that great for her broken ribs. She winced and moaned quietly. Harry looked at in concern.

"Are you ok?" He asked. She shook her head and bit her lip to stop from crying out. "Is it your ribs?" He whispered. She nodded and winced again. Her dad climbed into the front seat and turned to look at them.

"Right. Which one of you is going to tell me what the fuck went on in there?" He hissed. Carmella gulped form pain and fear.

"The drugs were mine, I'd just bought them. They were just for recreational use. Carmella grabbed it off me and said I wasn't getting it back, then you guys turned up." Harry explained wearily. Ranger looked at Carmella.

"Now what's you version of events?" He asked. She sighed.

"Same as Harry's. I saw him getting the drugs and I grabbed them off him. Then you all came in." She murmured. Ranger murmured a string of obscenities under his breath in Spanish.

"Well, thanks to you our whole investigation is totally fucked up. So we need names. Who did you get the drugs off?" He asked Harry. Harry edged as far away as he could and shook his head.

"No way man, it's not worth my life." He replied nervously. Ranger grabbed him by the front of the shirt and hauled him forwards.

"Let me clear something up for you. You are in serious shit here. Now if you don't help us, I will not so much as let you look at my daughter again because I will not allow her to associate with a drugged up loser. So you have two options, help us or rot in jail and loose Carmella forever and I know how much that means to you, I can see it in your eyes." He whispered so Carmella couldn't hear. He threw Harry back onto the car seat and stared at the two teenagers. "What's it to be?"

"I don't know who they are. They go to college with Michael or something. I swear that is all I know." Carmella shrugged. Harry sighed.

"Stretch Flinster and Charlie Jenson. They're 18, they live on Fridcot Street. That's what I know." He told Ranger. Ranger nodded and undid their cuffs.

"Tank will give you both a ride home and don't think for one second that we won't be talking about this young lady." He growled at Carmella and then climbed out the car. Tank replaced him and turned the engine on. He didn't even look at Carmella for the whole drive, which meant that he was pissed at her as well. This must have been some bust. Harry mumbled goodbye when they got to his apartment and clambered out the car. Carmella hitched up her dress and climbed over into the front seat.

"I'm sorry." She said softly "If it's any constellation I'm in a rather substantial amount of pain." She smiled. Tank kept his eyes on the road, not even glancing at her. She sighed and continued "Anyone alive in there? Tank please talk to me, I can't deal with you blanking me as well as my dad." She pleaded. Still no response. She sat back and crossed her arms "Well if you're going to be a jerk about this…" Tank glared.

"It's not the fact that you screwed up the bust. Well, it's partly that, but you lied to your dad. He thought you were staying at a friends and he hates that you felt you had to lie to him." He explained.

"Ok technically, I didn't lie. I had every intention of staying over at Mandy's after the club. I just failed to mention that was where we were going first. And he would hardly have been reasonable if I had said, would he? Do you really not remember what it was like to be a 15 year old?"

"And do you really not remember the trouble and heart ache you dad went through to gain custody of you? Do you not remember everything that's happened in the past few weeks, the shooting, that intruder, the attempted rape? Do you really wonder why he worries about you? You're a beautiful girl and you flaunt the fact that you are stunning. You were completely unprotected in there and worse you were with a druggie. He has a reason to be angry Carmella. We all care about you and would hate to see you get hurt and we would also hate to see your dad going through hell as a result of your actions." Ouch. Direct hit to the heart. Carmella nodded and sniffed.

"But I don't want to live my life being scared. How many teenagers have been beaten and almost killed by their ex-boyfriends-stroke-stepfathers? How many have been almost raped twice by the same ex? How many have had an intruder break into their home, shoot their dad and beat up a friend? I just want to live and I don't want to be scared. I think it's a marvel that I still have a grip on sanity and reality but if I get wrapped in cotton wool and locked away then that fear will just grow and grow. I can't live like that." She whispered as the rolled into the garage. Tank turned off the engine and wrapped her gently into a hug.

"I know princess. But just try, don't be too rebellious. It terrifies your father." They walked into the lift and went up to the fourth floor. Tank gave her a last hug and bid her goodnight.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

I opened my eyes as I heard the bedroom door slamming. Ranger stormed in, muttering mutinously to himself. I propped myself on my elbows and blinked blearily at him.

"Ranger, what's up?" I murmured sleepily. He stopped and looked at me.

"Sorry Babe, I thought you were asleep." He said softly and pulled his shirt off.

"Was it a bad bust?" I asked, wondering what had brought on the muttering and the stomping. He gave a harsh bark of laughter and unlaced his boots.
"You could say that, yeah. Carmella was at the club we raided. Her friends were doing heroin and she had the bag. It was a fucking disaster. I'm just grateful the police weren't there or I'd be bailing her out right now." He sighed and pulled his boots off. I crawled across the bed towards him and rubbed his shoulders. He sighed and relaxed slightly.

"Was it something I did? Is this my fault, I have a daughter going out and partying with druggies." He sighed in a defeatist tone. I kissed him on the base of the neck.

"No, Carmella is a smart kid and she makes her own decisions. None of this is your fault." I said soothingly. Ranger nodded slightly, then stood.

"I need to take a shower. Go back to sleep." He instructed. I nodded, crawled back under the covers and instantly fell asleep.

I slept till almost midday the next morning. I finally woke when Ranger walked in, fully clothed and with the look of someone who'd been awake for a good few hours. He smiled and kissed me on the top of the forehead.

"Morning babe, good sleep?" He asked, smiling slightly. I yawned and nodded, then jumped up, ran into the bathroom and threw up. I slumped back into the bedroom after washing my mouth out. Ranger looked slightly amused. I glared.

"Shut up."

"Didn't say a word babe."

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

Carmella yawned, stretched and then rolled off her bed with a shriek of surprise. Her bedside clock told her it was already midday. She muttered and walked into the bathroom to discover her mascara from last night was smudged down her face. She cursed under her breath and washed her face for almost ten minutes until the mascara was gone. She was drying her face when she heard the front door of the apartment open. She pulled her bathrobe on over her pyjamas and walked out to see Tank sat on her sofa watching TV. He smiled at her when she walked in. She flopped on the couch next at him.

"Have you seen my dad this morning?" She asked after a few moments of silence. Tank nodded.

"How is he?" She questioned. Tank sighed quietly.

"Better than he was last night. He seems to have calmed down a bit. I was wondering if you had nothing better to do then you could come and help me and Les in the com room." He offered. Carmella nodded and went to change into jeans and a t shirt. They got the lift up to the fifth floor and found Bobby sleeping and Lester yawning and staring blankly at a surveillance screen. He looked up and grinned when they came in.

"Alright stoner, your dad was just looking for you." He told Carmella. She swatted him around the head and sat on the chair next to him.

"You look tired." She observed and gave Bobby a kick to wake him up.

"Well we didn't sleep much last night." Lester grumbled. They were all chatting about Christmas when Stephie walked in looking a bit peaky. Carmella smiled and gave her a finger wave. She sat on a spare chair and smiled back.

"So Carmella, do you want to tell me what happened last night?"

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

I smiled at Carmella.

"So Carmella, do you want to tell me what happened last night?" I asked. She winced and opened her mouth to reply when Ranger stormed in, brandishing a blue box with 'Pregnancy Test' written on it in bold text. He slammed it on the table in front of Carmella. She looked up at him in surprise.

"What the hell is this?" he shouted. Carmella looked at him and picked up the box.

"Is that some kind of trick question?" she asked, examining the writing. He glared at her. She sighed and put the box down.

"Well, I want to say a pregnancy test, but it seems like such an obvious answer." She replied. Ranger snatched it off the table.

"A fucking pregnancy test. Would you mind telling me exactly what it was doing in your bathroom?" We all took a deep breath and stared at Carmella. She shrugged.

"I don't know. It's not mine. Maybe it's Stephie's." she suggested. I stared at her.

"Steph already knows that she's pregnant, why would she take another test?" he asked. Carmella shrugged.

"Um…to make sure." She muttered. Ranger raised an eyebrow. "Well I don't know!" she exclaimed "But it's not mine!" He sighed and sat down.

"Are you sure? Is there any chance you might be pregnant?" He asked. Carmella sighed.

"I know what you're thinking, but there is no chance at all. In order to get pregnant you have to have had sex and I haven't." She shouted indignantly. Ranger looked slightly embarrassed.

"Well how else do you explain. You're a fifteen year old girl with a pregnancy test in your bathroom. I just…flipped."

"No shit." Carmella muttered. Ella bustled in and placed a mug of coffee in front of Ranger and spotted the pregnancy test in his hand.

"Oh my, where did you find that? I've been looking for it everywhere." She exclaimed and took it from Ranger's hand.

"It was in my bathroom." Carmella told her, earning a smile.

"Yes, that would make sense. I did wonder what all the shouting was about. I got it for my niece. I'm the only one she talks to and she asked me to get it for her. Sorry if I caused any trouble!" she smiled and walked out. Carmella grinned at her father.

"Yeah I'm sorry. You don't have to look so smug." He muttered. I smiled at Carmella's victorious grin. Ranger sighed.

"You're still in trouble though. You're 15 years old Carmella, you shouldn't be going to clubs like that. I know that you weren't doing drugs but I really don't like the fact that you're hanging out with drug addicts." He stated. Carmella nodded.

"I appreciate that but I really don't think that Harry is an addict. He's just…confused." She tried to defend her friend. Ranger raised an eyebrow disbelievingly then shrugged.

"Tank, Bobby, Lester and I need to go away for a few days. We'll be back in about five days tops." He told me. I stared at him.

"Are you serious? It's Christmas in five days, you better be back before Christmas Eve or there will be hell to pay." I warned him. He nodded and walked out with the guys following him. I watched them go, then took a seat next to Carmella, ignoring the other guys in the room.

"Any idea where they're going?" I whispered. She shook her head, then she paused and grinned,

"No, but I could find out if you want…"

I sat on one of the chairs, drinking a coffee and waiting for Carmella. She'd disappeared almost half an hour leaving me with the promise that she could find her dad. She walked back in holding a black case and motioned for me to follow her into one of the individual work booths. I sat on the spare chair and watched as Carmella opened the case and pulled out a laptop. She turned to look at me.

"Ok, you need to tell me if anyone's coming because this might be a bit illegal. Right now I need you to go and distract Hal, he's watching the surveillance camera and I don't want him to see this." She instructed. I nodded and walked out.

"Hey Hal! Looking forwards to Christmas?" I asked. He swivelled around to look at me with his back to the screen. He shrugged.

"I suppose so, I get a holiday and I get to see my niece and nephew. It should be good." He said. I nodded and glanced at the screen. Carmella was wiring the laptop into the RangeMan computer mainframe.

"You're going to see your family then, where do they live?" I asked.
"Boston. I used to live there and worked in RangeMan over there but I transferred here a couple of years ago." He told me. I nodded and carried on talking to him for a couple of minutes. Then I saw Carmella turn to the camera and give the thumbs up. She walked over to us.

"Hiya, Stephie I need your help with an assignment. Hal is it cool if I use the booth over there? I need to do some school work." She stated coolly. Hal nodded.

"Ok, that's fine." He said in approval. Carmella smiled and we walked into the booth. She looked up at me.

"What was the password when you worked here?" She asked. I shrugged.

"There wasn't one, I had limited access." I replied. Carmella sighed and looked at the screen, then she smiled and typed something in. The laptop accepted the password and within seconds, Carmella was into the RangeMan computer mainframe. I stared at her in amazement.

"How did you do that?" I asked. She grinned.

"Magic." She clicked on a load of files and studied them with interest. After almost twenty minutes she grinned.

"I've got something here, four flight tickets for today, one way so they don't know when they're coming back headed to…oh crud." She muttered. I snapped my head up.

"Where?" I asked impatiently. She grimaced.

"Tampa Bay airport, Florida." I stared at her

"What would they be going to Florida for?" I asked, dreading the answer. Carmella shrugged.

"My guess is as good as yours, but I can think of a few reasons." She murmured. I frowned. There would be hell to pay when they got back.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

Many thanks to everyone who read this chapter, I hope you all approve! Love it? Hate it? Please Please PLEASE review! As always, any suggestions and/or comments are welcome. Thanks to everyone who reviewed to the last chapter! I'll try to update ASAP. Arigato! And P.S, randomly the next chapter will be Christmas!