I do not own JE's characters. I just like to play with them.
A/N: This a new story. Brace yourself, Babes, this is a TART. I welcome your reviews and input. The rating is for future scenes.
Thank you for reading and reviewing.
Lester POV
I love my wife, I really do, but this is cruel and unusual punishment right here. I cannot believe that I let Mitch talk me into this. She said we needed to cultivate contacts in town and she gave each of us a list of people to talk to. I got Mrs. Green at the Tasty Pastry and this woman can talk.
Mitch and Lula had been right about everything else. They helped us to choose uniforms and they helped us to pick out cars. They helped us to decide to get Tia Ella to come and help with laundry and cooking. She was bored and she liked to take care of us anyway. She had loved Mitch when we visited them.
Mama and Papa insisted that we have a large party next weekend and Mitch agreed once she saw that my family loved her. Please, they fell in love with our story and Mama and Tia Ana cried. She said she wished that Ric would find someone to love. He told her he would try and she hugged him. Mitch showed them pictures of us together and our wedding pictures and she was golden according to my mother's expression.
That was the other day. Now I am still in this bakery and Mrs. Green is telling me about her niece. I need to stop her right there.
"Mrs. Green, I am married. I married Stephanie Plum. She is Stephanie Santos now. We have been married for two years tomorrow." She gasped and hugged me.
"Oh, Little Boy anybody that loves Stephanie is a friend of mine. Now go on and give me your number and you take mine. I like you. Here, take a dozen Boston Crème Donuts home to that beautiful girl." We exchanged numbers and I left after paying for the donuts.
I just keep chanting to myself. I love my wife. I hope she is okay. She was dressed like she was invading a small town, but feminine. She had looked beautiful and badass and I wanted to fuck her brains out, but she ran out of the house telling Ranger that she had to come with him. They were going to Stark Street. She promised to call me with any problems. So far there had been no calls. I love my wife.
Stephanie POV
This guy does not know it, but I let him get me on the ground. I wore a short skirt and knee boots for a reason. He pulled my arms over my head and leaned in close. It was time to talk.
"Orlando, you may want to think about what you are doing, I mean have you heard of Ranger?" He did stop and he looked around. Several of his crew were missing from where they had been watching. He was the leader of the Hearts, a gang that just about ran Stark Street.
"Why do you bring up Ranger, White Bitch?" I smiled up at him. Orlando "Ozone" Menendez was the gang leader. He also needed a tic tac or something.
"It's just that he would be a little upset that you would not talk to me all polite you know. He would be pissed that you tried to hurt me, Orlando. He has sent men away in a box for less. I am his family, you know and family is important."
He looks around again and even more of his crew is missing. I take his distraction and bring my head up under his chin and leave him dazed while I flipped us over and had my gun at his crotch with my knife at his throat.
"You can come out now, Ranger. I think Orlando wants to talk to me nicely now, right Orlando?" We had a crowd that came out when Ranger came out. All he did was glare at Orlando and the poor guy pissed himself.
"You alright, Shell?" I smiled at him.
"Yup, I am cool. Orlando was just going to tell me that he would love to be your new friend. Isn't that right, Orlando."
A member of his crew did not get the message and yelled. "Bitch, Ozone don't answer to no snatch!" I threw my knife in his direction and he screamed.
"Be a good boy and bring me my knife back. Do you want me to let Ranger hurt you? Don't you see that more than half of your little crew is missing?" He whimpered and brought me back the knife after he took it out of his shoulder.
"Wipe it off, man." He wiped it on his shirt.
Suddenly, Ozone was our new best friend. He decided that he would respect Ranger and that they would cool it with the violence and if Ranger needed information, he would make sure that he had it. Ranger just nodded and escorted me back to the car. The guys guarding it nodded at Ranger and we got inside and drove back to the house.
"You are a brave woman, Steph." I smiled.
"Naw. I knew you had my back and Hector was there. Did you talk to him? Is that what took you so long?" Ranger laughed.
"Si, Steph. We talked and he said he will come by the building tomorrow. He has some ideas about wiring our cameras and all of that. You were right, he is smart." I grinned.
"I told you! Anyway, I am so hungry right now!" He laughed.
"You do love your food. So you won that argument. You got the streets to be afraid of me and I did not have to do anything but put those guys to sleep. That was easy. I guess I will take your advice on our paint colors for the office. My choices were more functional." I giggled.
"Your colors were like a hospital or a prison, Ric. Just trust me. I will not steer you wrong. Now when you tell Mateo, please do not mention that I was on the ground." He laughs loudly, but I am serious.
My husband was not going to appreciate a play by play of what happened. We arrived at the house, and my plan was to change my clothes really quickly and then I could eat. I ran to the bedroom and stripped on my way to the shower. My husband attacked from behind and I was sprawled on the bed under him with my face in the pillows.
My breathing picked up. "Hello, Mateo. Did you miss me, Baby?" He growled and suddenly he was inside me. Oh, well damn. He pulled me to my knees and I held onto the headboard.
"Mateo, is there a problem?" I panted out that question. His hand was in my hair pulling it slightly and his other hand was digging into my hip with a tight grip. He leaned over me and bit my neck.
"Mitch, did you let some asshole pin you to the ground and almost rape you in the middle of Stark Street and Ranger took out his whole gang single handedly and you were almost stabbed?" He sounds a little crazed.
The poor baby. He listened to the Grapevine. It is hard to be upset because what he is doing to me is so hot right now. I moan and climax hard which makes me collapse. He rolls me over and it does not take him long to resume thrusting. He is so good at this! I love when we are together like this. He looks so fierce and the way he is staring into my eyes.
"Answer me, love. Who do I have to kill?" Oh!
"Mateo, Baby, I had it under control. I was just stalling the leader so that Ranger could take out his crew. We basically scared him and I threw a knife at a guy. No one hurt me. I promised to call if there was a problem, remember? I keep my promises, especially to you." He kissed me over and over.
"Girl, Mrs. Green called me and said I had to save you. I assured her that you were alright because I knew that Ric would let us know otherwise, but I could not get it out of my head. I love you, Mitch. Oh, Baby, yes!" He finally let go.
We lay there for a long while before my stomach reminded us that I needed to eat. We raced to the shower and then we got dressed.
In the kitchen, Lu was dishing up a late lunch while arguing with Ric. I am telling you, Batman, you need a signature scent. One that the ladies will swoon about and that the guys will fear. We are going to Sak's so you can smell them and I can smell them on you. It will only hurt a little bit." He shook his head.
"Lula, if they smell me, then that is the opposite of stealth." She gave him a large salad with bean sprouts and other vegetables inside and fried calamari on top.
She gave the same thing to all of the guys and me but she gave me a grilled cheese with wheat bread and provologne and mozzarella cheese. Yum. I ate it so fast, I think that I inhaled it. Next she gave out smoothies and the guys all got fruit smoothies and I got chocolate and coffee.
"You don't need stealth, you need fear and you need people to talk about you, Batman." He sighs.
"At least can you stop calling me Batman?" The guys all laugh.
"Nope. You looked like Batman when you had on all of that gear and you were all scary riding in that Porsche. I knew I picked the right car for you! Go me!" She dances around a little.
"Mitch, why is she giving you more calories than us?" I look at Lu and she sits down and eats her food. She nods at me like it is up to me.
"I burn calories faster than normal and if I don't eat enough, it could make me pass out or something. I don't want to lose weight, so I eat more calories, but we try to make them good calories and I still work out and run. This past week since Mateo has been back, I lost four pounds and Lu is helping me to fix that. Nothing bad is going on." They all looked at Mateo.
"Damn, man. Give the woman a break sometimes." Les looked at Axe.
"Antonio, stop being jealous and eat your lunch. How did your meetings go?" Bobby smiled at Lu and then he answered.
"I went to St. Francis' and the nurses there were very very friendly. I told them that I had a girl and that I was faithful to her and they became like my best friends. They all want to be my informants. It was cool." Lu kisses his cheek and they share a look.
"Well, you got the easy assignment. Y'all sent me with Gram to go to the senior center. All of those older ladies asked to climb me." We laugh at Tank. "They said that they will make me a blanket and all like that, but they were cool after a while."
Ram speaks up next. "I had the kids' soccer game at the park. Those PTA moms are brutal to each other. When I told them that we were starting a new company here, they gave me lots of referrals but I have to avoid certain women because they cheat on their husbands or they have implants or they cook their casseroles with too much cheese. It was a madhouse. I felt like I was at a kissing booth. They were all lined up to talk to me. I think it is safe to say that the women of the Burg will be on our side."
Axe is last. He went to see Les Sebring. We were saving Vinnie for last. "I met with Mr. Sebring and he was all too happy to give us the contract for his FTAs. We agreed tentatively that we would start in two weeks and he gave me the contracts to show to our lawyer.
"That sounds great you guys. The police contacts will be the easiest. I know Eddie, Carl and Big Dog and they are cool. Eddie is the best out of the three and his wife Shirley gossips a lot, so he will always have the scoop. Now, do you want to meet Vinnie now or tomorrow, Ric?
He sighs and looks between me and Lula. "Does he really do things with a duck?" I nodded. He shivered.
"I will go with Lula to the mall and just meet him tomorrow." I bounce in my seat.
"Cool. Guys, we are going to the mall. Please dress normal and hide your weapons. You are allowed to smile at the mall. Lu and I will wait down here for you. If you are good at the mall, we can go to the carnival on the way back." There was a carnival at the mall in their parking lot. The guys cheered and got up and left. This was going to be so much fun!
Ranger POV
Okay, I like Steph and she is smart, but I am going to strangle her. First she scared me on Stark Street, then she made her friend spray perfume at me until I could not smell anything anymore, now I am at a carnival surrounded by little kids and women keep coming onto me. I will look at Steph and she will give me a thumbs' up or make the motion like maybe. She has not given me the go ahead on any of these women and it is getting harder to stay polite while saying no thank you to what I know will be a one night stand.
Tank was supposed to have my back and I know he is somewhere eating cotton candy or something. I backed away from this really pushy woman and tripped and fell over another woman. I know poor me. I helped the woman I knocked over to her feet and she is amazingly pretty. She is Hispanic and her hair is light brown. She smiles at me and I look at Steph. She nods at me. Good.
"Hello. I am sorry to have knocked you over." She pouts at me.
"Sorry nothing, Rico Suave. You owe me a new funnel cake and I insist you win me a stuffed animal for my suffering." I smiled at her.
"That won't work, either, pretty boy. I want a funnel cake. Let's move it." I let her pull me towards the line. What was it with pushy women today? While we stood in line, I checked her out. She was 5'7" tall and she was wearing shoes Steph called wedges and a pretty yellow sundress.
"So, what is your name, Miss?" She smiled at me as I paid for her funnel cake.
She sighs. "My name is Madison Lopez. I am mixed. Do not flirt with me. I am looking for a job and that comes first." She eats the funnel cake and closes her eyes in delight.
"You know that stuff will kill you, right, Madison?" She narrows her eyes at me.
"So what? Do you know the kind of day I have had? No, you don't and I am not telling you because then you would just think I am some crazy woman who tells strange men her problems. What is your name, anyway?" I smile at her again.
"My name is Ricardo Manoso. You can call me Ric if you want, Madison." She shivered.
"Damn. I am going to need a lemonade. You are hot, Ric. Dial it down a little. I am just a woman and I will jump you." I laugh at her. She is funny and she does not seem scared of me.
"Come on, you find the animal you like and I will try to win it for you, and then we can get a lemonade to celebrate, Madison. What kind of work do you do, anyway?" She points to a large animal and I resign myself to spending many dollars at this booth that I know must be rigged. At least she picked a shooting game.
"I teach languages to kids and I am also certified to teach phys ed." I think of the girls and that maybe they can use her. I will run it by them. It takes me three tries, but I win the animal and then she makes me carry it. I can see Tank laughing at me, but I don't care. When she smiled at me and bounced up and down and hugged me, it felt kind of great. I look at her smile and I think, maybe.