A/N : Thank-you for your reviews of chapter one of this sequel. I plan on hitting on the major points of the story in OFTM. Of course putting my own twist on things. (Yes that means the infamous "handcuffed naked to the shower rod" incident will get a totally new re-vamp!) But not in this chapter. hehehe ;) Enjoy!

SPOV

I woke to the screaming of the alarm clock in my ear. I roll over cussing under my breath, stealing a glance at the clock as I do; 6:55 a.m. Who in the hell messed with my alarm clock? I had it set for 9:30 a.m. But more importantly right now, why am I smelling the enticing aroma of coffee?

I drag myself out of bed and into the bathroom to take care of my exploding bladder. I stumble out of the bathroom and back to my bedroom to get dressed. After I pull on a pair of jeans and a plain white t-shirt, I make my my way to the kitchen. What I see there astounds me.

Ric is standing in the middle of my kitchen stirring a pan of what smells like eggs.

"Hey, don't take this the wrong way, but what are you doing here?" I ask sheepishly.

"Well, good morning to you, too sunshine. Looks like you got up on the wrong side of the bed this morning. Maybe if I were there with you, you would change your tune. I know you would definitely wake feeling a whole lot better, not to mention more relaxed." He wolf-grins at me.

"No doubt! I'm sorry if I sounded bitchy, I was just not expecting a wake-up call this morning. Thank-you for the coffee by the way." I say as I pour myself a cup of life's elixir.

"It's OK babe, guess I should have called first. By the way you were out of food so I went out and picked up a few things for you." He adds.

"Thanks for that. It may take a while for me to pay you back. But I will. I got to get a few captures under my belt and get some money in my bank account. Then I will be able to fill my cupboards again."

"No need to repay me babe, let me take care of you somehow. I'm not saying I want to make you a kept woman, just take care of you in small ways, like this one. Please let me." He asks. I don't know how he knew the word "please" is my weakness. I can never say no to it.

"What smells so good? I didn't even know that you could cook."

"Just your basic scrambled eggs and toast. Nothing fancy."

"Still smells great." I tell him as he places a plate down in front of me.

He just grins down at me at he places another plate for himself on the bar and sits down to start eating. I am already almost half done. I am truly enjoying the light meal. He really can cook. And why does he have this pained expression on his face and keep shifting in his seat?

"Something wrong, Ric?" I ask tentatively.

"Are you aware that you moan out loud while you eat? It makes dining with you a worse form of torture than some of the Colombian drug lords I have come across. You should teach sadist this torture technique." He tells me with a laugh in his voice.

I look over at him doing my best fish impression. "Uh... I ...I... never realized. Oh, hell I can't help it, I enjoy my food!"

"That you do, babe." He says as he gets up to do the dishes.

I get up to take my plate over to him at the sink. "Does it really affect you that badly?"

He grabs my hand and places it on his crotch. "Do you believe me now?" He asks as he rubs my hand against him.

"I'm sorry, I'll try to keep it under control, or at least at a lower decibel." I say with my voice full of guilt.

"It's fine babe, I never said I didn't enjoy it. But one of these days you might find yourself bent over the dining room table." He chuckles.

I smile as I think to myself. 'The way my hormones are acting, I just may throw you down and have my wicked way with you.'

Ranger chuckles and shakes his head. "Anytime you want to babe, trust me I won't object or put up a fight."

"Ugh ... out loud?" I wonder. He just nods his head with that damn adorable half-grin on his face.

"So what's first on today's agenda?" He asks.

"I really haven't planned anything yet. I thought we would play it by ear. What do you think, you're the expert?" I say.

"We should pay Ramirez a little visit today, but it's too early for that. Those guys don't get up and get started for the day until well after noon." He responds.

I look down at my watch; 9:02 a.m. "Well, we have a few hours to waste. You think we should go talk to Morelli's family and friends in the 'Burg?"

"I don't think any of his family will be willing to rat him out." He tells me.

"That is true. Angela Morelli and the rest of her clan would never give up her precious boy. This may be harder than I thought." I stress.

"Yep, Morelli is not your average FTA. He is going to be tough to track down. But you are with me, I am the best at what I do. I don't have my ear to the 'Burg grapevine, that's where you come in. That side of town is your specialty, mine is more Stark street."

"The best way to get what is happening in the 'Burg news, OK gossip, is to talk to people. My grandmother is the eyes and ears of the ladies at the Clip & Curl, and they don't have nothing on Vinnie's office manager, Connie Rossolli. She is part of a "family" if you know what I mean."

"Yea I know about Connie's connections. We can go and speak to her then make rounds around town scoping things out. Then maybe dinner tonight at your parent's house to get the scoop from your grandmother."

I can't help but giggle. "That all sounds good to me. But are you really sure you want to chance dinner at my parents. My grandmother is one of a kind."

"Yes, I'm sure babe. I want to meet your parents and the rest of your family. If we are going to be together, don't you think we should get to know one another's family?"

"Yes. Of course I do. But you just don't know how my grandmother is. You will learn and then you will be afraid, you will be very afraid!"

I can see by the look on his face that he is totally clueless. He will learn. "Well let's just get out and about. Time to earn our keep."

Three and a half hours later I slam the door to his truck as I get in. "I'm tired of people shutting the door in our faces." I grumble.

"Patience, babe. We're applying pressure. Getting the word out that we are looking for Morelli. He will slip up soon and we'll have our chance."

"OK. Do you think the guys are out yet at the gym on Stark?"

"Let's find out." Ranger replies.

The drive over to Stark street is silent. Ranger seems to go in a zone while driving. I can dig that, who am I kidding, the silence is killing me. What can I say? I'm a talker.

Ranger finds a place to park on the side of the road, and we get out. We walk up a couple of blocks and stop at a beat-up wooden door with a small dirty window. The small wooden sign beside it is barely readable. "Stark Street Gym" it says.

I get that funny feeling in the pit of my stomach that I have recently been calling my "spidey sense". I turn around to look behind me, scanning the immediate area. I don't see anything, but still can't shake that feeling of being watched.

Ranger notices my wariness and asks. "Something wrong?"

"No, not really, just feel like we're being watched."

"That is entirely possible on this side of town. I'm with you, don't worry, I got your back. Are you dressed?" He asks me.

"Dressed? Of course I'm dressed, I got jeans and a t-shirt on. What is your problem?"

"Babe." He just shakes his head. "I meant do you have your gun?"

I look away guiltily. "Um ... well ... it's kinda still at home in my cookie jar." I stutter. "I knew you would have yours. Don't you?"

I could swear I hear him sigh. "I have two guns and a knife on me. And another small arsenal in the truck." Why I am not surprised?

"Let's just get this over with." I utter.

Ranger reaches for the door and pulls it open then stands back to allow me to enter first. Gentleman? Nah, I think he's just covering my back. Either that or taking the chance to check out my jean clad ass.

The smell is over-whelming my senses. Stale sweat and pure testosterone. OMG! Gross! I stick closer to Ranger trying to see if his delicious scent will over-power this stench. Nope! No such luck.

We make our way up the stairwell ahead of us. I am afraid it will collapse under the strain. When we reach the top, I can't help to notice the smell is getting worse. And in front of us, 8 or so buff men have stopped what they were doing and are staring, I think at me.

"Gentelmen." Ranger's commanding voice booms out. "We are looking for Benito Ramirez. We have something to discuss with him. Anyone know where he is?"

Those once fearless men start to shuffle and cringe nervously. 'Hmmmmm... Ranger is nice to have around, quite an influence.' I think.

Ranger turns his head to look at me and winks, then quickly turns back to the room full of shaking men.

The largest and burliest of them steps forward. He is at least 6'6", bald head, African American, well muscled, looks like he could have a few screws loose if you look closely in his eyes.

"I'm Benito Ramirez. What you need to see me for?" He asks, the only man in the room willing to stand up to Ranger.

Ranger straightens his spine, even more than normal, and looks directly into his eyes to respond. "We need to talk to you privately. Nothing but talk, not looking for you. Just want to ask about one of your former runners, Ziggy. What do you know about his death?"

"Ziggy? All I know about him is he got whacked by a rouge cop. You looking for that cop, Morelli, ain't ya?"

Ranger nods. "That it?"

"Told ya, all I know about Ziggy. But I would like to know a little more about this fine specimen of womanhood right here beside you." He leers.

Ranger steps in front of me and growls out. "Mine!" He stares into Ramirez's eyes with a look of feral possession.

Ramirez steps back as he raises his hands in mock surrender. "OK, OK. All you had to say man. Got it."

Ranger jerks his his in acknowledgement. "That's all for now."

Ramirez huffs out a breath and turns to walk away. Ranger then leads me back to the shaky stairwell and out the front door.

As our feet hit the sidewalk, I have that hinky feeling again. Ranger jerks his head up looking around.

I look at him confused. "You feel it too, don't you?"

"Yea." He says as his eyes scan the area carefully. All of a sudden he takes off in a sprint across the street.

I catch up with him as he turns the corner into the alley way. "Damn!"

"What? What is it? Ric talk to me?"

"I saw Morelli in the alley here watching us from across the street. I don't know how he got away, unless he jumped this fence." He complains.

"We'll get him. Why would he be hanging out here on Stark?"

"Don't know exactly why, but I have a few ideas. He has a vested interest in talking to Ramirez too, gathering his own intel, or he could have been watching us."

I nod my understanding. We turn to head back down the two blocks back to his truck. As we make our way down the block I think to myself. 'This is not good.' What worries me the most is Morelli watching us. I know that right now he is a man on the edge, willing to do anything to remain hidden.

As I climb in the truck beside Ranger I look down at my watch again. I smile to myself as I see it is nearly 5:00. We buckle up and Ranger makes the drive back to my apartment in silence, of course, damn driving zone!

We pull into the parking lot of my apartment building. I ask Ranger as we head across the lot to my domain.

"We only have 45 minutes or so to get ready for this dinner with my parents. You sure you still want to do this?"

"Why wouldn't I be, babe? It can't be that bad."

We arrive at me front door. I unlock it and Ranger does a sweep, checking for who knows what, Morelli maybe. Yea right!

I enter my apartment right behind Ranger. He puts his gun back in the holster on his hip. He wraps his arms around my waist, kisses me briefly then tells me.

"You go take a fast shower and change clothes. Get ready for this dinner you are so worried about. I'll 'dress down' a little and then we will go have a nice, enjoyable family dinner at your parent's house. Agree?"

"If you say so Ric. What do you mean by 'dress down' a little? You changing clothes too, or just removing your weapons.?"

"Babe, I am never completely without weapons. I have to be able to protect my woman. I will remove the gun on my hip and the one on my back. The gun and the knife on my ankles will stay put. Always."

I grin back up at him as I tease. "Not ALL of the time. When I am alone with Ric, the weapons stay at the door."

"Agreed. Now get your sexy little ass to that shower." He says as he playfully swats my ass.

"Be back in a few." I toss back over my shoulder.

RPOV

I watch my babe dash back to the bathroom and think to myself. What in the world is she so scared of? Her family can not be that bad! Well we'll find out in an hour or so.

I take the guns off of my body that I agreed to remove for her. If it wasn't for the piece and knife on my ankles I would feel naked.

I settle myself down on the couch to wait for her to finish getting ready. I pick up the remote off the coffee table, turn the TV on and settle on some local news at 5.

30 minutes later Steph walks back into the living room. She looks dressed and ready to go. I get up from my post and remote the TV back off. "You look great babe."

"Thanks Ric. You ready to go?"

"As ready as I ever will be. Let's get this show on the road."

A/N : Please continue to review, I don't know how I am doing any other way. Thank-you to those of you who leave your words of support and take the time to read my stories. I appreciate you all more than you know. Rain (Jackie)