I'm wicked sorry it took me so long to update! RL really did a number on me, it wasn't my fault. Sigh. OK, it was all my fault, but I really couldn't find my muse for the longest time. I hope you haven't given up on me...

Thank you so very much for all your reviews, you have no idea how much I appreciate them.

A very special THANK YOU to Stayce for all the help and support and for the Sisphusian task of editing for me!

Disclaimer: All characters are borrowed from JE, the title is borrowed from Bon Jovi

Warning: Bad language and adult content

Keep the Faith

Chapter 19

"You sure about this?"

Ranger killed the engine and half turned to me. "No, but you are. And I go where you're going."

I rolled my eyes, although I actually thought it was pretty sweet for him to say this.

"Let's do it then," I announced and opened my car door.

We were parked outside my parents' house and it was a quarter to six. Ranger had made true on his promise to come along, and I was happy about that. I didn't really want to go anywhere alone after this morning's scare but more importantly, I always got off easier when Ranger was with me at dinner and I just didn't have the strength to face the Spanish Inquisition right now.

Mom was always a bit nicer when Ranger was around and she never ever asked about grandchildren.

A wine red KIA Sedona pulled up behind us and Ranger glanced at his cell phone on his belt.

"Don't even think about it," I warned him, knowing exactly what he was thinking. He was hoping he'd get an emergency call.

He looked up and flashed me his 200-Watt smile. "Worth a try," he said and winked, and my heart melted.

I spontaneously kissed him and was about to pull away when Ranger put his hand on my back to hold me to him and turned my quick peck into a proper kiss.

"I think I'm going to like this bodyguard thing," I joked when we pulled apart and got out of the car.

I waited for Ranger to come around to my side and hooked my arm with his. "This will be fun," I said. I actually meant that. Compared to my day, and week, so far, dinner with my crazy family could be called fun!

With everything that had been happening lately, starting with the dooming first call from Guzzarella, I'd barely seen my parents for more than five minutes at a time. Considering that in the past six months, I'd had dinner with them at least twice a week, I had to make up for lost time. I knew I was in really bad shape when I even looked forward to seeing Valerie and her family. I was, for lack of a better word, feeling homesick.

We walked up the steps together and the front door opened before we reached it. My mom was smiling and my grandmother was standing right behind her, trying to see over her shoulder.

"What a nice surprise," Mom beamed as she looked from me to Ranger to behind us. "And there's Valerie and Albert and the kids, too!"

Ranger made a soft strangling sound and I jabbed him lightly with my elbow as we stepped inside. Dad was in the living room watching a ballgame, he didn't even turn his head, he knew what was happening at the door.

Bob came galloping out of the living room and slammed against me, bumping me into Ranger.

"Why don't you help me finish dinner in the kitchen, Stephanie?" Mom asked.
That was never good. My mom didn't need help cooking dinner. She wanted to talk to me in private. Ranger smiled, he knew the code, and pulled Bob away from me to join my dad in the living room.

"You're feeling all better then? Mary Kulinsky's daughter told her you left without checking out?" Mom got right to the point when I closed the kitchen door behind me.

"I was going to be released anyway, I just didn't wait for my papers," I explained. That wasn't even a fib. I was lucky Mary Kulinsky hadn't told her mom about the details leading up to my departure from the hospital.

I heard the commotion in the hall that always accompanied Val's arrival and caught myself being grateful for the distraction.

My mom looked at me as if she was trying to decide whether to believe me or not.

Grandma Mazur barreled into the kitchen before either of us could say anything else though.

"Good for you to stop by, Stephanie," Grandma Mazur said. "When was the last time you brought Ranger and Bob for dinner, must have been Christmas or something."

She winked at me and I knew she had interrupted on purpose. Probably in case I needed backup. I loved my grandmother.

"It's been three weeks since Stephanie stayed for dinner and over two months since she brought Ranger," my mother answered Grandma's question. Oh great, I hoped this talk didn't evolve into a guilt trip, I really wasn't up for that.

"Do I smell smoke?" Grandma asked, knowing fully well that the question would distract my mother and I slipped out of the kitchen as Mom turned towards the stove.

The rest of the house was pandemonium. Bob was jumping up and down around Mary Alice and Angie, Mary Alice was pretending to be a horse and whinnied loudly, trying to top Bob's barking, Valerie was trying to calm a screaming Lisa and Albert was talking to Ranger using his hands and feet. You had to know Ranger very well to see that he was trying hard to appear interested.

The only one not affected by the mayhem was my dad, still watching TV in the living room, waiting for dinner to be served. I really envied him and wondered if I got my avoidance skills from him.

The kitchen door opened behind me and Grandma Mazur emerged with a bowl of mashed potatoes, so I assumed the coast was clear and helped set the table.

An hour later, I took a deep breath of fresh night air when we left my parents' house. Ranger blew out some air, his version of a sigh. I laughed and leaned into him.

"We made it."

"Barely," he said softly, and I knew he was smiling without looking up into his face. "Actually, it would be more accurate to say Albert made it," I said. I was pretty sure there was a time or two during the dinner conversation when Ranger had thought about pulling his gun. And Probably my dad would have encouraged him.

Dinner had been the usual chaos. There were the food fights between Angie and Mary Alice, although Angie would just whine about it and not participate, Lisa's incessant crying, Albert's babbling. Mom had thrown back almost four glasses of wine while Ranger and I each only had one. It was a miracle nothing had exploded and nobody had gotten hurt.

I don't know if it was because we'd just 'survived' dinner at my parents' house or because it was such a nice night, but all of a sudden, I felt like talking. Right here and now.

I took Ranger's hand and led him down the sidewalk, away from the car. "Let's take a walk."

"Something on your mind?" he asked. "You never exercise voluntarily."

I stuck out my tongue as I rolled my eyes. "People change," I replied wistfully.

Ranger laughed softly and put his arm around my shoulder, squeezing me lightly, and we walked down the familiar streets. He seemed relaxed next to me, but I knew he was in protection mode. If I asked him what kind of cars we'd passed in the last five minutes, I'd probably have gotten make, model and license plate number. I felt completely safe.

"Are we being followed?" I asked, matching my steps to Ranger's so we moved as one.

The corners of Ranger's mouth quirked up. "A team has us in sight. Are you asking because you felt them?" he asked as he looked down at me. "No, just because you thought I would be extra careful," he answered his own question and chuckled again.

"You think I need extra protection?"

Ranger leaned down and kissed my nose. "Humor me. I'm not taking any more chances."

Windows didn't open as we walked by, but I knew all Burg eyes were on us. And telephones were ringing everywhere to alert the next neighbor to the event, I was sure. Burgers lived for gossip, any kind of gossip, but I still loved them and the Burg. I needed the familiar territory for this discussion.

"I need your help," I started, my eyes on the ground. "With the Joyce issue I mean."

"Babe, you sure you want me to…"

I stopped and held up my hand. "You come within ten feet of her I'm going to bathe you in Clorox."

Ranger smiled his full-on smile. "Now there's an image. As if I needed incentive not to touch her."

I chuckled, leaning against his chest as we stood on the sidewalk.

"I don't need that kind of help. But I want to know what you think of my ideas…" Then I told him about my idea with the hookers.

He wrapped his arms around my waist, looking down at me, when I was finished.

"You want to hire an escort to distract Vinnie and make Joyce jealous," he summed it up.

I nodded.

"Are you sure Harry wouldn't think you were tricking him if you got Vinnie hooked on another broad?"
I rolled my eyes at his lame pun. "That's what I wanted to talk to you about. If you have any other ideas, I'm listening."

"I guess I'm just a little confused by the walk," Ranger quipped and I punched him.

"I thought I'd change my usual pacing," I said and stuck out my tongue. Ranger knew I could never sit still when I was trying to come up with solutions. And right now I was thinking I had to attack my problems. I was glad our relationship was no longer one of them.

"I think DalBo and Guzzarella are a little more pressing than finding a mate for the pervert," Ranger said, taking my hand as we started walking again.

I sighed. Of course he was right, but I had no clue what to do about DalBo, at least I had a start of an idea about my deal with Harry.

"But Harry called in his marker before I ever met the other two," I pointed out.

I waved to Mrs. Kulesik who was letting her dog out for a last tinkle in her front yard. "So what do you think about 'Candy's Close Encounters'?"

I knew Ranger raised and eyebrow by the way he asked "Candy's Close Encounters?", I didn't even have to look at him.

"I was hoping you'd like the idea enough to lend me some money to hire her services," I admitted.

We had walked around a couple blocks and were almost at my parents' house again. Ranger put his arm around my shoulders and did his almost-smile.

'Well?" I prodded.

"I think I should check her and her establishment out first," Ranger said.

I stopped. "Oh no. I don't think so. Unless you're talking about a RangeMan background check, that's okay."

The almost smile turned into a full on smile as Ranger fished his keys out of his pocket and remoted his car open. He opened the passenger door and held it for me.

"Not that I don't trust you or anything," I rushed to explain, just in case Ranger thought I was jealous. "Just wouldn't want to add to your workload."

Ranger was still smiling as he walked around the front of the Cayenne to the driver's side. Obviously, I was amusing him.

He went into his zone on the drive home and I told myself he was thinking about my idea. I had some money in my account, thanks to my RangeMan job, but I needed a lot more to hire one of Candy's girls for more than an hour.

Ranger hadn't said anything by the time we parked in the RangeMan garage and he left the elevator on the fifth floor telling me he had some work to finish and he'd be up in a little bit. I still had more to discuss, so I decided to wait for him in the living room, zapping through the channels, rather than in the bedroom where we'd be too distracted to talk.

The late news was on when the front door unlocked. Ranger went into the kitchen and joined me on the couch a minute later, holding a Corona out to me.

"More alcohol?" I asked, alluding to the one glass of wine he'd had earlier. "Bad day?" If he could make fun of my aversion to exercise I could make fun of his body temple thing, I figured.

"Wise ass," he quipped and leaned back, taking a long pull from his bottle.

He closed his eyes and I could tell he was worn out. I scooted closer and put my head on his shoulder. "Was it bad at the office though?"

Ranger let out a long breath. "This Hartung guy is good. No English word out of him yet."

I sat up straight. "You questioned him without me?"

He ran the palm of his hand over his face and rubbed the bridge of his nose lightly before he let out a frustrated breath.

When he opened his eyes again and looked at me, I could sense his frustration. "No. Lester and Hector tried and failed. I think I should try."

I had some gory images of how Hector would 'try' to question a suspect and I had to shake my head to clear it. "Why is he so important?"

Ranger leaned forward and pulled me back into him. "Because he's the only lead we have. The guys in the van got away. We can't seem to find DalBo or Guzzarella. I hate to admit it, but this guy is the best we have."

I had managed to push the whole issue to the background, but Ranger's confession brought it back fast. Shit. I hated thinking about problems I had no solution for, that's what denial was for. Right now, I didn't even want to discuss the Harry solution any further.

I decided Ranger needed a lesson in denial and ran my hand up his chest, slowly unbuttoning his shirt on my way down.

"Don't think I don't know what you're doing," Ranger said softly when I pushed myself up on my hand to reach the exposed skin on his chest. "But I'm too beat to argue."

"Yeah right," I grinned, placing butterfly kisses on his chest, smiling as he involuntarily shivered under my light touch.

We both knew Ranger would never let a little thing like fatigue stand in the way of a job. More likely he had told me everything he knew already and didn't mind the distraction. And I really didn't want to talk about it anymore.

He picked up my hand off his chest and brought it to his lips, kissing first my wrist and then my palm. Exciting shivers ran up and down my spine even at this slight touch.

"If you're so beat, you should go to bed," I suggested, slowly scooting off the couch. I looked at him through lowered lashes and I was trying to pull off really sexy but probably looked more like sex kitten as I held out my hand to help him up.

Either way, Ranger smiled as he took my hand and stood up. He surprised me by picking me up and throwing me over his shoulder in a fireman's carry and I let out a shriek that turned into a giggle.

"Caveman," I reprimanded but I was giggling so hard I didn't know if he heard me.

Ranger didn't break stride until he leaned forward to deposit me on the bed. His smile was not only full-on, it was a wolf grin.

"It was your idea," he pointed out as he lowered himself down, putting his hands on either side of my head to balance his weight.

I snaked my arms around his neck and pulled him closer. "That's right. So I get what I want."

He chuckled softly and closed my lips with his in a hot and passionate kiss. I knew that was his reply, 'You always do'.

I bunched up his shirt and pulled it up, Ranger broke the kiss long enough to lift his head so I could slip it off. Just splaying my hands on his muscles, rippling under my touch, almost gave me an orgasm on the spot.

Ranger's hand had snuck under my shirt and he had expertly opened my bra clasp and cupped one of my freed breasts as the evidence of his excitement pressed into my belly. He kissed me lightly and got up so suddenly that I didn't know what was happening until he was standing next to the bed.

I was about to protest when I saw him undress with the same lightning speed and he joined me moments later in all his naked glory. I pulled my shirt over my head and opened the top snap of my jeans, but then Ranger covered my hand with his.

"Let me," he whispered and leaned down, pressing me into the mattress.

He let his tongue swirl around my ear before placing open-mouthed kisses down to the sensitive spot where my neck met my shoulder, all the while kneading my breast, teasing the nipple to the point where I was aching for release.

I ran my fingers through his hair and arched into him, I was overwhelmed by the need to feel him in me.

He replaced his hand with his mouth and ran circles around my painfully pebbled nipple with his tongue until I saw stars behind my closed lids. I could feel his breath on my skin, as fast as my breathing, and I urged him on by grinding my hips into his.

I literally shrieked when Ranger's cell phone vibrated on the night stand and the string of curses Ranger uttered while slowly pulling away told me he wasn't faring much better.

He didn't even greet the caller, he just flipped the phone open. The Merry Men knew better than to call Ranger after hours unless it was an emergency, so I knew the news couldn't be good. Ranger cut his eyes to me, then he turned around and sat down on the bed with his back to me.

"When?" he asked his caller.

I pulled the sheets up to cover me and sat down next to Ranger, I had a feeling the conversation concerned me too. Unfortunately, whoever was on the other end was talking too softly for me to hear anything.

"Give me five minutes," Ranger said after another minute and flipped the phone shut.

He let out a long breath and stood up. "Bad news, Babe," he said and held out his hand for me.

"Hartung killed himself," I guessed and that earned me a raised eyebrow and an almost smile from Ranger that instantly made him look more relaxed.

"No, he's fine as far as I know. This is about you. We have a meeting in five minutes." He looked me up and down. "And we should get dressed. Tank will go over everything. Unless you want me to…"

I shook my head. "I don't need to hear bad news twice, I think I can wait five minutes," I said, distracted by the sight of Ranger in front of me.

I was still holding the sheet to my chest, whereas Ranger was completely naked, and I took advantage of the situation by smacking him on his ass as he bent to pick up his pants. He grabbed me before I could turn away and threw me over his shoulder again.

"On second thought, we could just go as we are," he said and started marching towards the door.

His voice sounded serious although I was convinced he was kidding. But with Ranger, one never knows. I started struggling as I shrieked and he let me down.

I was laughing hard by the time I got my footing but the look on Ranger's face made me stop. It was his patented blank face, and I knew the news was really bad. Just like that, the light mood was gone. He'd tried to 'play along' but in the end, I was the only one who had aced the class on denial.

Ranger picked his pants off the floor and put them on, then he straightened and looked at me. He tucked a strand of hair behind my ear and kissed my nose.

"Yeah, it's that bad, Babe," he said, reading my thoughts.

We both got dressed in silence after that and I rushed to the bathroom to tame my hair. I never knew women could suffer from 'blue balls' but what I was feeling had to be close to that. I was beyond frustrated. A part of me knew I should only care about the case and what news had come in about it, but a much larger part just wanted to rip Ranger's clothes off and drag him back to bed.

He cupped my face in his hands and kissed me. "Consider this a rain check," he said and led me out the bedroom door.

Tank, Bobby, Lester and Hector were already in the conference room when we came in. Ranger took his seat at the head of the table and I took the chair Lester pulled out for me. Tank cleared his throat and passed out a sheet of paper for everyone.

"Mario Guzzarella was found shot at 20:00 tonight," he opened and my jaw dropped.

"WHAT?"

"He was pulled out of a dumpster behind the municipal building on Broad Street," Tank continued as if that somehow explained everything.

"He's dead?" I asked needlessly.

All Merry Men had their blank faces on, Ranger was studying the paper in front of him, but my guess was his face was blank too.

I leaned back in my chair and let the news set in. Not that I would ever wish another person dead, but I didn't exactly feel sorry for Guzzarella. I'd seen his eyes and I was sure he hadn't been a nice person for a long time if ever. Still though, it was quite a shock.

"That's not all," Tank said and my silent question if I'd heard all the bad news Ranger had warned me about was answered.

Tank waited until he was sure he had my full attention, then he pointed at the file in his hand and then to the sheet of paper in front of me.

"The murder weapon was found with him, a .38 S&W Special."

I looked up, confused. "That the same gun I use."

The room around me grew quiet. Well, quiet-er, as if someone had pushed the mute button.

"It is your gun," Tank finished tonelessly.

And now I knew why Ranger had reacted so strongly. Guzzarella had been shot with my gun.

"I didn't shoot him," I said, looking from Tank to Lester to Ranger.

"I know," Ranger said softly.

"Steph, we all know," Tank assured me. "Only…" he lowered his eyes to avoid looking at me.

"Only what?" I demanded.

"It is your gun. As in, it's covered with your finger prints."

"Well, mine and the murderer's, right?" My voice was rising and I got up to pace. No way could I sit still any longer.

"Just yours, Babe," Ranger said into the absolute silence.

My fingerprints were in the system because they had been routinely checked when I started working for Vinnie and again when I'd started at RangeMan. I had a sick feeling I knew what was coming next.

"They…the police…think…I killed him?" I worded it as a question, but it was rhetorical, really. What other reason could there be for Ranger and the guys to look so defeated?

I shook my head slowly. There was no doubt in my mind it was DalBo's doing. He'd tried to get to me directly and had failed, twice. So he'd found a fool prove indirect way. Damn.

"Babe," Ranger began and got up, walking towards me.

His expression was no longer blank, he looked both concerned and pissed. Lester put his hand on my arm to get my attention before Ranger reached me.

"We're on it, Bombshell, we got your back."

"Count on it," Tank confirmed. "Just in case Trenton PD gets their panties in a bunch, we called our lawyer to give him the heads up. Even if they decide to arrest you, you'll be out on bail before you know it."

I scoffed. "Yeah, I have a cousin who'll post my bail," I said sarcastically.

Ranger put his hands on my shoulders and I leaned back to draw strength from him. So far, I'd kept up my unfazed exterior, but I felt the tightly wound coils of panic in my stomach already.

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, trying to count to ten. Ranger was here with me. My friends were here with me. There was no reason to panic, I told myself. Not yet, anyway. Tank had said 'if' they decided to jump to conclusions and arrest me, not when.

"Babe, when was the last time you remember seeing your gun?" Ranger asked, interrupting my thoughts.

"It's DalBo," I said, leaning forward and finally picking up the sheet of paper. In bullet points, it was explaining everything Tank had told us.

"We are looking into…" Tank began but I held up my hand in the universal stop gesture.

"I know it's him," I said. I turned around to face Ranger. "It's DalBo."

I could tell by the look on his face that he'd been thinking the same thing. He nodded slowly.

"We can't know that," Lester argued. "We haven't even seen the guy in over a week!"

I looked from him to the rest of the guys, and while I could tell they were trying to maintain their blank faces, I could see the others didn't share Lester's opinion. I knew they didn't think I'd killed Guzzarella, but they believed somebody had set me up, and pretty good too.

Tank cleared his throat again. "We're waiting on the autopsy report, just like the cops," he said. "Time of death will determine if you need an alibi or not."

"Right, that makes sense," I said automatically. That was the way it was handled on all the TV cop shows, after all, so it had to be true, right?

"Santos, Brown," Ranger said, looking at them each as he said their name. "Find him."

They both jumped up immediately and looked like they were going to salute. "On it," they said as one and stormed out of the conference room.

The panic subsided. I knew it would be appropriate to freak, but I felt no need to anymore. I felt strangely numb, as if I was watching this whole scene on TV. It was strange. I stared at the table in front of me without seeing anything and tried to tell myself what this was really serious, that I could be accused of murder.

In hindsight, I believe it was the proverbial straw that broke my back. I'd been on this constant adrenaline high and low that I was spent. Earlier, I'd fought for my life and even though I'd won, it had left me emotionally drained. I needed a break to recharge my batteries, preferably a year long. I just couldn't take it anymore, that's the only way I can explain it.

"Any questions?" Tank asked, although only Hector was left of the Merry Men. "Meeting adjourned," he added for the record when Hector shook his head.

They filed out of the room, avoiding eye contact with me. Actually, I was avoiding eye contact with them, because I was afraid I'd read pity in their eyes and start bawling after all. Not that they'd ever shown pity, but I'd never been accused of murder before either.

Ranger's hands were still on my shoulders, and now he squeezed them lightly. "Let's go."

I barely heard him. Although Tank's description hadn't been graphic, I saw a mental picture of Guzzarella's body being pulled out of the dumpster. Unfortunately, I had seen enough corpses to imagine the scene in all its gruesome details. In my mind, he had a perfectly round hole in the middle of his forehead. Garbage was clinging to his perfectly tailored charcoal grey suit and his tie was a little askew. His cold blue eyes were looking directly at me, but there was no life in them.

I flinched when Ranger's hands closed around my shoulders and lifted me up. "Sorry," he whispered and wrapped his arms around me, just holding me.

I don't know how he knew exactly what I needed, yet again. I didn't want to talk about it, I didn't want to even think about it, I just wanted to be held.

I'd deal with it when and if it had to be done, I told myself, and not a moment sooner. For now, I was going to push it to the farthest corners of my mind, with all the other things I didn't want to think about. Hartung would keep Guzzarella good company in the hidden corners of my mind, I figured.

I took a deep breath and pulled back to look at Ranger. "I'm okay," I said.

"I know," he assured me and brushed the hair from my face. "Let's just call it a day though, the teams are on it and they'll update us if they find out anything."

I knew what would really distract me right now, but it was the one thing I didn't feel like, oddly enough. A Ranger-induced orgasm would make all my problems seem secondary, but I just wasn't in the mood. The story of my life.

I let Ranger lead me to the elevator, his arm around my shoulders. I was borrowing his warmth and his strength and he didn't seem to mind sharing. And for once, I didn't feel guilty about using all his and his company's resources, I was just grateful.

I'd think about it all tomorrow. Tomorrow would be another day.

TBC

A/N: As you can see, Steph really, really tried to address her problems. It really wasn't her fault! Well, it never is, right? What do you think, is this a sign she should forget all about Harry and the deal? Or should she continue her Scarlett routine and deny the more pressing issues to find a way to seperate Vinnie from Joyce?