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!

I looked at the page of information I'd just found on Steven Jenkins, trying to pick out every single small detail that could possibly help Carmella in the pick up tonight. This guy was sick. I found it unbelievable that this guy could actually rape a child. I couldn't dwell on that right now. In two hours, she'd be trying to bait him and we couldn't miss anything that could put her at risk. I sighed and looked up as the door opened. Carmella strutted in wearing thigh high leather boots, a tiny black mini skirt, a tight slightly see through white shirt and a black bra. She spun around with her curled hair flying out around her face.

"What about this?" She asked. I looked at her and shook my head.

"No, you need to look young. No make up, no see through clothes and…just get changed before your father sees you." I instructed. She grinned and flounced out the room. Tank walked into the office just after she'd left with a look of shock on his face.

"Was that Carmella or a prostitute?" He asked. I laughed.

"She's trying out some outfits for tonight." I explained. He looked stunned.

"Where did she find those clothes?" He asked in shock. I shrugged.

"The trash?" I suggested. He grinned and handed me a cup of tea. I sniffed it suspiciously and was hit with the smell of herbs.

"Where's the coffee?" I asked. He shrugged.

"That's better for you in your state. You've still got five months to go so ease of the caffeine." He instructed. I stuck my tongue out at him when the door opened and Carmella skipped in.

"Oh dear Lord." Tank groaned. She was wearing over the knee socks, a plaid skirt and a white shirt. Her hair was up in pigtails and she had a lollypop in her mouth. She did a little skipping turn and grinned.

"Lose the socks and just tie your hair in a pony tail or leave it down, then that'll be fine. Do you have any wedge sandals?" I asked her. She nodded and skipped back out the door. When she re appeared, she had her hair down, socks gone and had strapped her feet into a pair of black wedge sandals. She was still sucking the lollypop. She'd also pulled a fitted black blazer over her shirt. Her father walked in behind her and his eyes widened in shock when he saw his daughter. He chose not to comment and walked over to me. He took the paper out of my hand and glanced over it. Then he looked at Carmella.

"Are you still sure you want to do this?" He asked. She nodded and took out the lollypop. He nodded, not looking too pleased. It was too late to do anything about it now; Jenkins was going to be in his regular bar in just over an hour and we needed to get him before he could hurt anyone else. Junior and Bobby walked in looking less happy than usual. They nodded curtly at me and Ranger. Junior was holding a small black case which he placed on the desk in front of me. I looked at it questioningly. He opened it and pulled out a wire.

"Carmella you need to put this on so we can keep track of you." He said, clearing his throat and shifting uncomfortably from side to side. Ranger frowned.

"Ok, where does it go?" She asked innocently. Junior blushed slightly. Tank started ushering everyone out.

"Come on; let's go so Carmella can get wired up." He said. Ranger was reluctant to move.

"Can't Steph-" He tried to suggest, but Tank bodily pushed him from the room. I grinned and followed, leaving Junior and Carmella.

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Carmella smiled at Junior as he prepared the wire. He turned to her and cleared his throat.

"Can you unbutton your shirt please?" He stated more then asked. She looked shocked "Um, for the wire " He hastily explained "It's the best place to conceal it."
"Oh. Sure." Carmella nodded and swiftly unbuttoned her shirt. Junior pressed the tiny microphone to her bra crossing. He quickly taped over the wire to conceal it and Carmella buttoned her shirt back up. She smiled at him again and then let the others back in. Her father ran over all the details for about the millionth time. She nodded and said 'hmm' in all the right places which seemed to satisfy him.

"And finally you must not act like you recognize any of us in there Carmella; that could blow the whole thing." He said finally. She nodded again and took a deep breath.

"Right then" Tank said in a dominating tone "Let's rock."

They drove to the bar in silence, Carmella in a car with her dad and Tank with Bobby, Lester and Junior following. Stephie was feeling nauseous and had decided to stay at home. She knew the bar; loads of kids in her grade went there because they were uncaring about age, just as long as they made a profit. Her dad pulled over about half a block from the bar and turned in his seat to look at her. She was studying the mug shot of Jenkins, making sure she was familiar with every line and contour of his face. When she was satisfied, she put it down and looked at her father.

"It's not too late to pull out." He told her. She shook her head.

"I'm not pulling out." She told him. He nodded and sighed.

"Ok, speak loudly and clearly. Just go in and try to bring him out the front as peacefully as possible." She nodded, kissed him lightly on the forehead and hopped out the car, pulling her purse onto her shoulder and subtly feeling the contents. One can of pepper spray, a taser, cuffs and a gun. The gun was a very last resort, one her dad didn't know about. Tank had given it to her to ensure she'd be safe but she wasn't supposed to use it since she had no license to carry at all, let alone carry concealed. She sashayed down the street and into the smoky little bar at the end. She instantly spotted Steven at the bar, drinking a beer. She walked passed him and stumbled, grabbing his shoulder for support.

"Oh I am so sorry, I'm so clumsy! I just cannot walk in these shoes, but I don't think it'd be appropriate to walk around here barefoot." She laughed sweetly and smiled. Jenkins grinned and steadied her.

"No problem. Can I get you a drink?" He offered. She pouted slightly and nodded.

"I think that'd be ok. I'll have a vodka and coke." She ordered and hopped into the bar stool next to him. He raised an eyebrow.

"Aren't you a bit young?" He asked when the bartender had shuffled off to get her drink. She pushed a finger to her lips and whispered

"What daddy doesn't know won't hurt him." She finished with a smile. He grinned again and nodded.

"I'm Steve." He told her and offered his hand. She shook it.

"I'm Harriet. Nice to meet you, Steve." She said. He looked like he was about to wet his pants with joy. Sick creep. The bartender gave her the drink and took the money off Jenkins. Carmella drank almost half of it in one go, earning her another raised eyebrow from Steve.

"Bad day?" He asked. She laughed lightly.

"Something like that." He was still making conversation, still flirting even though he'd picked up straight away that she was under age. Horrible evil bastard. He started rambling about his job, while she sipped her drink and made sympathetic noises. Then she crossed her arms just under her breasts, causing maximum cleavage and giving the desired effect on Jenkins. His mouth dropped and he focused his vision on her cleavage, still valiantly trying to make conversation with her breasts, but stuttering madly. She wondered if she should tell him they wouldn't answer but he seemed to be enjoying himself. Repulsive perverted asshole. After another ten minutes of mind numbingly boring conversation, she had finished her drink and flipped her hair flirtatiously.

"Hey, do you maybe want to go somewhere a bit quieter?" She suggested. His eyes glazed over and he nodded manically. They stood and he started to lead her out the bar but to the back door.

"We're going out the back?" Carmella asked, hoping it was loud enough to be picked up on the wire, but as she said it some guy next to them fell loudly off his stool, yelling as he went. Steven nodded and continued to guide her out of the bar and into a small alley out the back. There was no one here waiting for them. It wasn't logical; they hadn't even been aware the back door was open to customers.

"Woah it's so much quieter out here isn't it?" Carmella loudly "I can't believe how clear the sky is." She said, glancing up to make her point. That would tell them that she was outside and they'd see she wasn't out front. Jenkins pushed her against the alley wall and pressed his mouth against hers. She gave a shriek of surprise and kept her eyes open. He ran a hand up her thigh and tried to pull down her panties. She let out a muffled shriek and pushed him away.

"Hey get off me; that is too much too soon!" She yelled indignantly. Steven glared and shoved her so her head hit against the wall. She pushed a hand into her bag and groped around for something to defend herself with. Pepper spray meant he could still thrash around and there was the risk it might blow back at her in this confined space. The taser would take too long to set up. That left the gun. She pulled it out, took off the safety and shot him in the foot. He yelled in pain and hopped around, giving Carmella the chance to run up the alley. She tripped over a garbage bag halfway up but quickly steadied herself and waded over the spilled garbage. She'd just got through it when Jenkins grabbed her roughly from behind and wrapped an arm around her neck. He was going to kill her. She had no choice. She swung her arm up over her shoulder and hit him hard on the head with the gun. He let out and 'oof' and fell onto the floor. She stooped down and cuffed his hands behind his back. Junior and Bobby appeared at the end of the alley. Their mouths dropped in shock at the scene. Carmella ignored their expressions. She turned her back to them, unbuttoned her shirt and tore the wire off. She buttoned the shirt up again, handed the wire to Junior and watched him switch it off.

"Give me some gloves." She instructed. Bobby handed her a pair of latex gloves and the watched as she rubbed the gun on the material of her skirt for about a minute to get rid of any of her prints. Then she flipped the safety on, held it by the barrel and pointed the handle to Junior.

"Take it." She told him. He took it from her and held it properly. She nodded and took it from him by the barrel. Then she grasped Steven's right hand and closed it round the gun. Finally she handed the gun back to Junior and told him to put it in a holster.

"Here's what happened. Junior ran round here because he heard me yelling. I just went in for a drink and didn't know who Jenkins was but he pulled me outside and got way too friendly. Oh wait" She stopped and punched Junior in the head, hard. He stumbled backwards, cursing "Ok, Jenkins punched Junior, who dropped the gun. Jenkins picked it up and then accidently shot himself in the foot and dropped the gun. Junior and I ran, he chased but tripped on the garbage bag and smacked his head against the wall. Junior called Bobby, who came with Tank and Ranger, and he recognized Jenkins as an FTA and cuffed him." She quickly wiped her prints off the cuffs. The two guys nodded and Ranger and Tank appeared. Junior quickly told them what had happened, while Bobby and Carmella nodded in agreement. Ranger looked slightly unconvinced at first, but eventually nodded his approval. Jenkins groaned and tried to stand but couldn't get his balance. Tank wrenched him to his feet and threw him against a wall.

"Sorry about that." He said "He just slipped right out of my hands." Carmella grinned and her dad wrapped an arm around her shoulders protectively.

"Are you ok?" He asked. She nodded and he smiled slightly "We didn't pick up you saying you were going out the back way. We only got it when you started ranting about the sky." He grinned and ruffled her hair. She smiled and they walked out the alley and back to the cars.

"Tank'll take him to hospital to get checked out and then to the station." Ranger told her as they climbed into the car. She nodded, pulled down the sun visor and checked her reflection in the small mirror embedded in it. They drove in silence for a bit, until Ranger said

"Are you going to tell me what really happened back there?" Carmella tried to put a surprised expression on her face.

"I told you, Junior-"

"Junior got there at the same time as Bobby. We heard the whole thing over the wire. You screamed, there was a gunshot, you ran and tripped in the garbage and he caught up with you." He said with a stony expression. Carmella sighed.

"He got physical so I shot him and ran. I fell; he caught up and had an arm round my neck. I swung the gun over my shoulder and hit him on the head with it. Then Junior and Bobby turned up. That's it." She said simply. Ranger nodded and remained silent.

"I don't want to know where you got the gun. Just…I don't know what to say." He finally said.

"How about 'I don't approve but at least you have protection'" Carmella suggested, grinning. Her dad rolled his eyes but smiled slightly. She laughed softly and they drove up the long drive to their house. As they were nearing the gate, Ranger stopped the car suddenly, jerking Carmella against her seatbelt. She was about to ask what he was playing at, when she saw her Aunt Celia leaning against the gate with a huge suitcase and an apologetic expression on her face. She walked over to the car, opened the back door and climbed in, throwing her suitcase in first.
"I've left Masimo. Could I stay with you for a bit?" She asked. Ranger nodded silently, opened the gate and drove up the rest of the drive to the house. Carmella climbed out and opened the front door for her Aunty.

"The second floor on the left has free bedrooms. You can choose whichever one you want to stay in." Ranger told his sister as he carried her bag through the front. It was close to ten now and there was no light. Carmella switched on all the hall lights so they didn't trip over anything. Steph appeared at the top of the stairs, wearing a teddy nightgown and looking slightly confused.

"Hey. How'd everything go? Oh, hi Celia." She said, smiling politely at Ranger's sister. Celia smiled and waved. Ranger nodded and started to carry the suitcase up the stairs.

"It all went fine. Celia's going to be staying here for a while." He told her, kissing her lightly on the lips as he walked passed her, with his sister following. Carmella ran up the stairs, shouted goodnight and went into her bedroom. She quickly changed into the nightgown Harry had given her for Christmas and crawled into her bed. She was reading the latest 'Georgia Nicholson' book, when her cell phone started ringing. She flipped it open and looked at the caller ID, smiling.

"Heya Harry." She said; glad to be talking to her boyfriend again.

"Hey Princess, sorry I haven't spoken to you in a while. I've missed you." He assured her. She smiled and glanced over at a picture of her and Harry she had on her desk that had been taken at the winter formal.
"I miss you too. Almost time to go back to school though. Why don't you come over tomorrow?" She offered, praying he would accept. She could almost hear him grinning.

"Sounds good. Shall we say midday?" He asked. Carmella nodded enthusiastically, then remembered it was a phone and he couldn't see her nodding.

"Sure. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Pleasant dreams." He wished and hung up. She threw the phone back onto her bedside table and turned off the light, snuggling deep under her covers and fell asleep thinking of Harry.

It was four in the morning when Carmella was jerked awake by her phone ringing. She grabbed the phone and flipped it open, not checking the caller ID.

"'lo?" She muttered groggily. She could hear muffled shouting in the background.

"Carmella? Oh thank fuck! We've been calling for ages. It's Alex, we're at the night circus and we're in trouble. There were some guys who were just crazy on crack and they started a fight and…it's Harry, he's pretty bad. We need your help. It's me, Harry, Dan, Mandy, Estella and Michael but Mandy and Estella are…they can't help and Dan and Michael are still fighting. Please, we're in the lot round the back-holy shit, get off me! Get-" The line went dead. Carmella was now wide awake. She jumped out of bed and threw on panties, jeans and a jacket with her nightdress still on underneath. Now she had no idea what to do. She had to help her friends but…Aunt Celia. She ran out of her room and up the stairs to her Aunt's room.

"Celia, wake up please!" She shouted and shook her by the shoulders. Her aunt opened her eyes slowly and stared in confusion at her niece.

"Carmella? What-"

"Please you have to help! My friends are in trouble and my boyfriend is hurt and I have to help them but dad will go mad if I steal a car…again." She admitted. Celia jumped up, threw on jeans and a jumper and ran down the stairs with her niece close behind. Carmella had grabbed her bag with her Maglight, defence spray, stun gun and gun in there. Celia grabbed a set of keys off the side and they ran out the front door to a parked SUV. They climbed in and sped down the drive, through the gate and into the town. Carmella was shouting directions, trying to remember her way and swiping tears off her face. She was also praying they didn't get busted for speeding. They screeched to a stop outside the club, just over ten minutes after Alex had called Carmella. It usually took half an hour to reach the club from the house; Carmella was more than impressed with her Aunt's driving. She jumped out the car and ran around the back of the club with Celia following her. There were five meatheads she didn't recognize beating the crap out of Alex, Michael and Dan. Mandy and Estella were passed out on the bank that surrounded the car lot. Celia ran over to the girls to check them over while Carmella ran up behind the meatheads. She stun gunned one in the back of the neck and watched him crumple to the ground with a sense of satisfaction. She then delivered a roundhouse kick to another's head, sending him flying backwards into the others. She quickly stunned another two, so there were only two left standing.

"Go find Harry." Alex yelled "We can handle these two." Carmella saw him glance nervously at Mandy, but she nodded and went to look for her boyfriend. She held the Maglight up over her shoulder, spreading light around the lot but also ensuring she could use it to hit someone of she was attacked. Then the beam of light fell onto a few drops of blood. Her heart dropped to her shoes and she followed the drops until the light fell onto Harry. His face was cut and bruised and there was a knife wound in his arm. She clapped a hand over her mouth and ran to his side. He wasn't conscious but he was still breathing. She shook him lightly, trying not to hit him against the floor.

"Harry, wake up." She shouted "Wake up now!" Slowly he opened his eyes and looked up at her.

"Carmella? Don't look at me, I look like shit. I haven't done my hair or make up or-" She punched him lightly on the shoulder.

"Wiseass. We need to get you to a hospital." She told him. He shook his head, then frowned when he realised it wasn't the best movement to make.

"No way. I can't, I'll just head home." He muttered. Carmella shook her head and pulled his unwounded arm around her shoulders so she could help him up. He got to his feet unsteadily and shifted his weight onto her.

"You're coming back to mine. Celia has medical training, she'll look over you." She assured him. He mumbled a noise of agreement and let her lead him over to where the girls were regaining consciousness. The meatheads had cleared off when they realised back up had arrived. Alex was nursing a bleeding nose, Dan had a black eye and Michael had a cut lip. The SUV only had four passenger seats but they all managed to pile in. Michael, Alex and Dan were sat in the huge trunk, Harry sat in the middle seat in the back so Carmella could keep an eye on him with Mandy on the other side and Estella had grabbed the front seat. Celia just drove them home, not asking any questions about what had happened and not trying to make conversation. They drove up the drive, pausing to open the gates. Mandy smiled.

"I forgot to tell you at the party, I love your house. It's amazing." Carmella smiled and nodded weakly. Tiredness was starting to take a hold of her. They pulled to a stop and climbed out of the car. Celia led them all into the kitchen and then went to get a medical kit. Mandy explained that her and Estella had been got with a stun gun and so hadn't been injured. Alex was tilting his head and pinching the bridge of his nose to stop the bleeding. Celia walked back in and set the kit on the counter. Carmella poured some antiseptic liquid on a wad of cotton wool and quickly cleaned Michael's lip. She then put some bruising relief cream onto Dan's swollen eye and helped Alex wipe the blood off his face while Celia saw to Harry. She even had a small kit for doing stitches. After she cleaned all his facial wounds, she took the kit out.

"Any of you have a lighter?" She asked. They all shifted uncomfortably, not wanting to admit to having a lighter. Finally Harry pulled one out of his pocket and handed it to Celia. She used it to sterilise the needle for the stitches, then threaded it.

"This is going to hurt." She warned Harry. He nodded silently. Carmella grasped his free hand but had to look away when her Aunt started stitching the knife wound in Harry's arm. She felt his grasp tighten with each stitch but he still didn't make a sound. Finally Celia stood and put the medical kit away.

"OK Harry, you may have a concussion so stay awake for the next 24 hours. It'll be hard but it's for your own good." She assured him "Now all of you go up to Carmella's wing and stay there. I think it's in your best interest it you dad doesn't hear about this." She said directly to Carmella, who nodded in agreement. Her dad would not be happy if he found out. They all scurried up the stairs and into Carmella's bedroom.

"It's going to be impossible for Harry to stay awake for that long on his own." Alex stated "I say we take it in turns, we sleep while someone watches, then we swap every four hours." He suggested. They all nodded and agreed to stay at Carmella's house for the next night.

"I'll take the first shift." Carmella volunteered "If Harry goes in the games room then we have five bedrooms for the sleeping people to go in." They quickly worked out an order to go in and then all found a room to sleep in. Carmella and Harry went into the games room and collapsed onto the sofa.

"What can we do for four hours?" Harry asked with a suggestive grin on his lips. Then he wrapped an arm around her shoulders and pulled her to him. He unzipped her jacket and slid it off her shoulders, then smiled when he recognized the nightdress.

"It looks good on you." He whispered and pressed a kiss to her neck. She grinned and wrapped her arms around his neck, fully awake again.

The four hours went surprisingly fast. Carmella looked at the clock and saw it was already nine in the morning. The games room door opened and Mandy shuffled in, smiling sleepily.

"Go sleep Carmella; you look like the living dead." She muttered and switched the TV on. Carmella grinned and slumped into her bedroom where Mandy had been sleeping and, not even bothering to take of her jeans; she collapsed on the bed and fell asleep.

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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. I hope this was ok! (BTW Masimo is Celia's husband, just in case someone didn't get that!) What do you all think of Celia/Lester? Let me know! Thanks to everyone who reviewed to the last chapter! I'll try to update ASAP. Arigato!