They're all JE's. I'm only playing with them awhile.

InBox

Chapter 21

It was a miracle I didn't need the cure when I woke up this morning. I haven't had any cravings for junk food since the second week of basic. I was too busy getting my ass smoked to think about anything else.

The trip back to Trenton was uneventful. Tank and Lester slept most of the way. They had way too much to drink last night. Damien and I took turns driving and we made it back in less than 14 hours. We pulled into the Rangeman garage a little after ten. I decided to stay at Rangeman's extra apartment for the night so I didn't have to wake my parents up. I called my dad on the way home and told him Damien and I would be over for breakfast in the morning. My mother still had no idea where I was and has no clue I'm going to be there tomorrow.

We followed Tank and Lester to the elevators and rode up to the fifth floor to check in. By now I'm sure everyone in the building knows I'm here. Tank informed me that Ranger is still in Miami, and hasn't been back to Trenton since he left.

The elevator doors opened and a large dark body jumped out and hugged me. "Bomber! Missed you! Where have you been? I've been so worried!!!!!"

I recognized the voice. It was Bobby Brown. "I can't breathe Bobby!"

"Sorry Steph, I'm just so happy to see you!"

By now Cal and Hal along with a few guys I recognized from the office were surrounding me. "It's good to see you too Bobby."

Tank cut in. "Give the girl some room. We were just on the road all day for god sakes."

They passed me around hugging me and telling me how much they missed me.

"Where have you been Steph? It's been boring around here without you."

I sighed. I really didn't want to tell anyone where I'd been. "I've just been getting some training. No big deal. I'll be home for a week and then I'll be gone again for awhile. Don't worry; I'll be well taken care of."

I almost forgot Damien was beside me and realized how rude I was not to introduce him. He had a strange look on his face. All of this was probably hard for him to take in all at once. He doesn't have anyone in the world and here I have all these guys wanting to know how I was. "Guys, this is my friend Damien. He's training with me."

They all welcomed Damien and told them if he was a friend of mine he was welcome to Rangeman anytime.

"Ok guys, we're beat. I'll see you in the morning. I'm going running at five am, anyone want to join me?"

They all looked at me like I had grown another head. "Didn't anyone ever tell you guys it's not polite to stare?"

They were snapped out of their trance. "Sorry Bombshell." They said in unison.

"I'll go with you Steph." Bobby said quickly.

I smiled. "Great, how about we meet in the front of the building at ten til?"

"Ok, see you then." He said as I turned to get on the elevator.

Damien and I got settled in the apartment. It looked like the other apartments in the building. There was only one bedroom.

Damien looked at me and then at the bedroom. "I'll take the couch, go ahead and enjoy the bed."

I laughed. "Come on Reynolds. You can share the bed with me. Just don't try any funny stuff."

I discarded my clothes, pulled on an Army PT t-shirt and climbed into bed. The sheets were heavenly. They instantly made me think of Ranger. I haven't thought of him in awhile. Not in that way anyway. Damien was already there in his boxers. I laughed out loud. "Nice boxers, buy those in the kids section?" They had mini Superman all over them.

"These happen to be my favorite underwear. I bet if you had Wonder Woman underwear you'd wear them!"

He had me there. "You're right. I would. Now let's get some sleep. Four thirty is going to come sooner rather than later."

After a little tossing and turning, I finally curled up against Damien and he put his arm around me. I fell asleep immediately.

For once I woke before anyone else. I stretched and got out of bed to find my PT shorts. I found the shorts and put them on after I put my sports bra on under my Army shirt. My tennis shoes were worn down from using them so much. I'll have to get a new pair soon. After my hair was pulled into a pony tail I climbed into the bed and began to jump on it to wake Damien up. "Rise and Shine!"

He opened his eyes and immediately slammed them shut. "Go away Plum. Who gets up at five am to run on their week off anyway?"

He sounded like me a few months ago. "Alright, I'll let you sleep in this time. I'll wake you up when I get back and we can go to my parents.

He didn't reply. He was probably already back asleep.

Bobby was just coming out of his apartment when I came out of mine. "Morning Steph, are you ready for a few miles of running?"

I gave him a flash of my pearly whites. "I sure am. Let's go."

We ran for a few miles in silence. "Where were you really at these past few months Steph? I want to know why Tank and Lester left for the weekend and turned their GPS off, and suddenly turned up with you and some guy last night."

I guess it's ok to tell Bobby. I actually feel bad about Tank and Lester knowing and him being in the dark. "Ok, I'll tell you but you can't tell anyone, especially Ranger. The only person who was supposed to know was Tank, but Lester accidentally found out. I joined the Army and I just got out of Basic Training yesterday. I have a week of leave before I go into Special Forces Training."

He stopped walking and stared at me. "Holy shit Steph! What made you decide to join up?"

"I visited Adam's Parents in El Paso, and his father talked me into joining. Well actually his friend Eagle did. They didn't really have to twist my arm or anything, I really wanted to get more disciplined and into shape. Eagle recruited me for Special Forces even before I signed up. He said he was aware of my background and training would only help my capabilities."

He grabbed me and gave me a big hug. "I'm so proud of you Steph!"

"He was hugging me so tight I could barely manage a "Thanks."

He suddenly pulled away from me. "Wait, you said Eagle talked you into joining. You mean, the "Eagle" as in Special Forces legend!? Next thing you'll be telling me is you were codling with Falcon Also!"

I tried to hide my smile. "Well, now that you mention it…."

His jaw dropped. "You've got to be kidding me! How are you lucky enough to meet Eagle and Falcon? They're like the wind, there are all these stories, but no one's ever seen them for sure."

I smiled. "That's answers easy. Falcon is my father, and Eagle is one of his and Adam's dad's friends."

"You're shitting me, right Steph?"

"Nope, I'm serious. I didn't know who Falcon even existed until my dad recognized Adam and Adam called him Falcon. Then he showed up to my basic training graduation and gave a speech. Just don't tell anyone about my dad, I don't want it all over the Burg."

"No Problem Steph, your secret is safe with me."

We were interrupted by a male voice.

"Looking good, Cupcake."

Shit. I was hoping I wouldn't run into him. "What do you want Morelli? Bobby and I were just about to resume our morning run."

He stepped closer to me, and Bobby put a hand on my shoulder. "I haven't seen you around in a few months, where have you been?"

Fuck.

"None of your business Joe, we have to go, see ya later." I guess that answer wasn't good enough for him because he grabbed my wrist, but he was to slow and I took a hold of his arm and twisted it behind his back.

"Keep your fucking hands to yourself Morelli. I won't tolerate you man handling me anymore. If you touch me again I'll my foot so far into your crotch, your balls will be in your throat. Do you understand me?" He didn't answer so I pulled his arm tighter.

"Yes." He hissed.

I let him go and Bobby and I ran back to Rangeman.

Lester's POV

Shit. Steph is going to kill me. I took a video of our night out and was just going to e-mail it to Hal, Cal and Bobby but I accidentally sent it to all of Rangeman, including Ranger. Shit shit shit, She's gonna kill me!

I knocked on Tanks door. "Come on in, Door's open." His voice boomed.

I took a deep breath. "We've got a problem."

I stood there frozen. He's going to kick my ass. "Is there a problem with one of the accounts?"

"Not exactly….See, I took a video of our night out and accidentally sent it to everyone at Rangeman."

Surprisingly he laughed. He threw his head back and laughed his ass off for about five minutes. "Bombshell's gonna kill you man. This is going to be priceless. Wait until she gets a hold of you."

"Fuck you man. I guess I'm on my own with this."

He laughed again. "You got that right; you're in deep shit Santos."

Awe fuck.

Chapter 22

Steph's POV

We made it to my parent's house by eight. As we pulled up I saw my mother and grandma Mazur standing at the front door. What is it with them? They must have Stephanie radar or something.

"I apologize for whatever happens in there." I said to Damien as we walked into the house.

"Stephanie Michelle Plum! Where have you been? I've been worried sick! All your father would tell me is that you were ok and you'd be back soon!"

Shit, she's already starting in on me. Just kill me now. "I've been away getting some training mom, I'm fine."

Before I could say anything else I heard a yelp. "Gee Stephanie; your boy toy has a nice package! Mind if I try it out?"

Oh crap, poor Damien got felt up by Grandma. "Grandma! He's not my boy toy, and stop grabbing at him, he's my friend!"

By now my dad was in the living room with a big smile on his face. "It's good to see you Pumpkin. How long are you staying?"

I was re-thinking staying here the whole week. "Until Friday, we have to be at Fort Bragg on Sunday Morning. We're just going to stay at Rangeman at an empty apartment until then."

We all sat around the dining room table and ate a leisurely breakfast of donuts and coffee. I figured now would be a good time to surprise the girls at the bonds office. Hopefully Morelli didn't spread it around that I was back so I could surprise them.

Damien and I said our goodbyes to my parents and we rode over to the bonds office in my borrowed SUV.

We parked across the street and I walked across to the office with Damien's arm slung over my shoulder. He gave me a squeeze. "It'll be alright Plum."

The squealing began as soon as we walked through the door. Lula launched herself at me and Connie just stood there screeching.

"Where have you been girl?" Lula said letting go of me. "No one would tell me nothin', Tank said you were alright, but skinny ass white girl, you just about gave me a heart attack droppin' off the face of the earth like that! And who's this fine piece of specimen? He yo bodyguard or somethin'?

I laughed. "I've been away getting training. Sorry I didn't tell you guys, it's just something I had to do on my own. This is Damien, he's not my bodyguard, but he was getting training just like me."

I explained to Damien why I didn't want to tell anyone where I really was, and he understood completely. He was going to go along with whatever I said.

"Damien, these are the girls I was telling you about. This is Lula and this is Connie."

He shook their hands. "It's nice to meet you ladies.

They both blushed at Connie started fanning herself. Damien chuckled and sat down on the couch in the corner.

"So Steph, are you back to work? Cause we could really use your help. Vinnie is too cheap to hire someone else and Lula can't get all these skips by herself."

This is what I was dreading, telling them that I'll be leaving again in a few days. "Sorry guys, I can't. I'm leaving for another part of my training this weekend. I'm only here for a few more days."

Lula looked like she was about to go into rhino mode. "What you be talking about girl? You can't just take off again, it ain't right!"

I gave her a smile. "I'll be back in three or four months, don't worry the time will go fast. You can keep a journal of what happens around here so I can read it when I get back."

She grinned. "That's a good idea; I'm thinkin' you might need to know what goes on around here. Maybe I can call it "The young and the duckless" on account of Vinnie can't get ducks no mo. Some wildlife reserve people came in here and told him if he didn't stop stealing ducks from the park that they were going to call the police."

A figure, Vinnie is such a slim ball.

"Well girls, I've got some things I have to take care of, how about we go out tomorrow night. You guys pick the time and place and I'll bring the guys. I'll call Marylou and ask her to come also."

They seemed to like this idea. "Sure thing Steph." Connie said. "We can go to that club near Rossini's."

Sounds like a plan. "See you ladies tomorrow!" Damien said as we were walking out the door.

"Want to go get some lunch?" I asked when we got in the SUV. "We can go to Pino's, they have amazing Pizza."

"Sure, I'm feeling some pizza, let's go."