Title: Saying Goodbye

Author: Robin

Disclaimer: The characters you recognize belong to JE. The ones you don't came from my twisted little mind. I'm not sure if that's a good thing or not…

A/N: Love it? Hate it? Let me know.

Rating: We're still hanging in at PG-13, for now…

"It is good to finally meet you, Stephanie Plum," he said. "Ranger has told me absolutely nothing about you."

Chapter 6

Stephanie

"I'm completely shocked," I said, light sarcasm coloring my voice as I shot a narrowed eyed glance at Ranger. The narrowed eyes were partly because the walls were making me tear up and partly because I wanted to tease Ranger. But I really wasn't put out. It would be nice to think Ranger cared so deeply that he couldn't keep his mouth shut about me, but it would be hard to picture. Ranger was a private person and as far as I knew, kept his own counsel. He returned my look with a slight shrug of his shoulders that said, 'I am what I am' and I couldn't help but smile. I kinda liked him as he was. I turned back to Marco, who was still holding my hands in his. "Ranger has told me very little about you as well, so I guess we're even. Though I'm gathering that you like color."

I went on, filling the quiet with my mouth, which I would swear sometimes was completely out of my control. "I mean you two are on two opposite ends of the spectrum. A little color can be good, interesting even." I eyed Ranger's black shirt stretched taut over his sculpted chest. Okay, so the black worked for him, but I bet he'd look good in blue… or­­­­ green… or white against all of that tanned skin. Yum. I mentally shook myself. Focus Steph.

I took in the rest of the office. It looked like Roy G. Biv had vomited in the room. Red velvet couch, orange leather executive chair, grass green lacquered desk and book shelf, pieces that shouldn't be allowed to exist separately, but all together were something out of a Crayola nightmare. I turned back to Marco, shuddering. "On the other hand, too much color can be really… disturbing. Not that I'm the decorating expert or anything, but this is… Unless…" A thought occurred to me and I gasped, "Are you gay?" I rushed to add, "Not that there is anything wrong with that, but that would explain why it's so… uh… flamboyant… But, I don't know any gay men who would wear that shirt. Actually, I don't know any men who would wear that shirt, period." Maybe it's a Miami thing.

Ranger and Marco's laughter was rich and sexy as bounced around the room and somehow I'd done it again… managed to be entertaining. Ranger was still chuckling when he said, "Babe, Marco's partly color blind, but definitely not gay. At least if the string of women that have paraded through here are any indication."

I closed my eyes and groaned. Great, now I've really done it. I haven't known Marco for five minutes and my big mouth and I have already managed to insult his decorating habits and taste in clothing plus I questioned his manhood. Ranger protect me.

More laughter, and I cracked my eyes open, biting my lip. Great, and now I'm thinking out loud. Perfect.

Still laughing, Marco said, "I knew you were beautiful, and you'd have to be smart to interest my brother, but I had no idea you were going to be funny as well." I breathed a relieved sigh that I hadn't just screwed up this meeting. For some reason I hadn't yet examined, I really wanted Ranger's family to like me. But wait, I'm confused. Didn't he just say he'd never heard of me?

At my confused look he explained. "Just because my brother treats his life like a top secret mission, doesn't mean I don't have my ways." Marco pulled me to his side, wrapping an arm around me much as Ranger had done a few moments ago. I didn't know him all that well, but it felt like Marco was baiting his brother. For my part, I was curious what Ranger would do in the face of Marco's teasing.

Ranger became stoic, but raised a questioning eyebrow. I decided that I didn't want to mediate any sibling squabbles, so I kept my mouth shut. Hey, maybe I do have some control after all. Too little, too late. But, as far as I knew I was the only person that ever gave Ranger a hard time and lived to talk about it. So this could be enlightening. And Marco smelled good – almost as good as Ranger. Oh, I hope I didn't say any of that out loud.

Since Ranger was still watching his brother silently and didn't look like he was contemplating the cost of airfare to the Congo, I thought I was safe. For now.

"I have picked up a few things over the years, little brother," Marco said, giving me a squeeze. "There had to be a good reason you were spending so much time up in Trenton and leaving me with all the work down here. I knew it wasn't my stellar managerial skills or the snow and cold and Jersey smog." He turned his attention to me, "Of course, I always thought my brother was some kind of monk, until your name hit the news when Julie went missing. Then I knew without a doubt, that the attraction in Jersey was one Stephanie Plum."

Ranger finally interrupted, joking. "I didn't think you were sharp enough to figure it out, I guess I have taught you something." Ranger reached out for my hand and with a gentle tug, gathered me back to his side. The close proximity to Ranger might have been messing with my mind, but I was pretty sure Ranger had just admitted that he spent more time in Jersey to be near me. My heart fluttered a little at the thought, but I quickly squashed it. Probably, I'd misunderstood. Probably, he was just kidding.

As I tried to wrap my head around Ranger's comment, the bickering – if you can accuse two grown, armed men of engaging in something so childish – continued. Marco rolled his eyes at Ranger and said, "I have picked up a thing or two over the years. Plus, it's good to be underestimated." He met my eyes and we shared a smirk. Yeah, I could relate.

At that break in the conversation, my empty stomach decided to make itself known with a grumble. You'd think I'd be impervious to embarrassment at this point in my life, but my cheeks colored as I put a hand on my stomach. "Sorry, I'm hungry."

"Let's get you fed, Babe. Marco, do you want to join us?"

"No, baby brother, some of us have work to do." He bowed and kissed my hand formally, but the effect was ruined by the amused glint in his eye. "Ms. Plum, it's been a pleasure to meet you. I look forward to getting to know you better during your stay."

I couldn't help but smile back at him. I pulled out my rather rusty 'Burg manners in return. "It's nice to meet you too, Marco. It is too bad I'm not here under happier circumstances. I'm sorry for the loss of your father."

The transformation in Marco was instantaneous as all the light left his eyes. I was immediately sorry I'd said anything. "Thank you, but I'm not. Our father was a bastard." His tone was still light when he spoke; however, his words were anything but.

Even though it appeared we were standing on the surface of the Sun, the atmosphere immediately became icy. Ranger's jaw hardened, teeth clenched and his fingers dug into the skin on my hip where his hand rested. I shot Ranger a confused glance and tried not to wince at his bruising grip. He was staring at the floor, not looking at his brother, or me. I was at a loss, so I laid my palm on his cheek, turned his head toward me and willed him to meet my eyes.

"Hey," I said softly, trying to soothe him. Not even really understanding all of the emotions in play, I knew Ranger was on the edge of his control. And for a moment, there was a naked expression of emotion in his eyes before he shut it down.

"I'm sorry, Carlos," Marco said softly, serious now. "I know you and Papa—

"Babe," Ranger interrupted his brother in that flat, emotionless voice that was more frightening to me than any Morelli rage. "Will you wait outside for me?" When I hesitated, he squeezed my hand to reassure me. "I'll only be a minute."

Taking one last, long look at Ranger, I turned and left the room, shutting the door behind me.

Once outside, I leaned against the wall and heaved a sigh. What the heck was that all about? If only I'd kept my mouth shut, I chastised myself. But, how could I know that there was bad blood there? That's what I got for trying to be polite.

I was standing there, trying to puzzle it all out, probably muttering to myself, and generally looking crazy when Buddy jogged up.

"Do you need to go somewhere, ma'am?" he asked. He was breathless, hopefully in anticipation of helping and not from the short run. Not even I got winded that easily.

"No thanks, Buddy," I told him. "I'm waiting here for Ranger. And please don't call me ma'am. It's Steph."

Buddy settled next to me against the wall to wait with me, mirroring my stance –leaning back, arms crossed, one leg bent, foot flat against the wall. Just me and my shadow.

"Really," I said glancing over at Buddy, "there's gotta be something better for you to do. Ranger will be out in a minute. I don't think I can cause any trouble in that short amount of time." Well, I probably couldn't cause any more trouble than I already had.

"It's no problem, ma'am – I mean, Steph – right now you are my assignment. I'll just keep you company."

"Did Ranger put you up to this?"

"No ma'am, the Operations Chief assigned me to you."

In Trenton, Tank was the Operations Chief. I wondered who held that post down here and if he was just guessing that I was good at finding trouble or if he'd been forewarned. I lowered my voice to a conspiratory whisper, "You probably don't know this about me, but my bodyguards don't have a long shelf life. I hope all of your affairs are in order."

A shadow crossed his friendly features. I'd say it was fear. Maybe Buddy was smarter than he looked.

"Don't worry," I added, feeling a little guilty for making him worry. "I don't have any stalkers or psychos after me right now, at least none that I know of, so you should be okay. But watch your back – the position comes with some bad luck."

"Oh. Okay. I'll keep my eyes opened." He scanned the room then, as if to prove that he was going to keep his eyes open. Like I was in danger in the middle of Ranger's highly secured building. Yeesh.

"I think we're safe here. Don't you?"

"Oh, of course," he said, but he still remained vigilant.

I mentally rolled my eyes, but smiled to myself. Buddy was dim, but he was kind of growing on me.

The office door opened and Ranger walked out, pausing next to me. I straightened, trying to read him, but his blank face was firmly in place. Silently he motioned to the elevator with his head and started walking toward it. I turned to Buddy and gave him a little finger wave then took off after Ranger, walking faster than normal to match his long stride. I felt the weight of curious eyes on us as we made our way across the room, but Ranger was in a zone, either unaware or unconcerned by the attention. At that moment, I didn't care about anyone else… I only had eyes for Ranger.

Once we were standing next to each other on the elevator, moving down toward the garage, I placed my hand on Ranger's arm. He flinched under my fingers and I snatched my hand back as if I'd been burned. Taking his reaction as a rejection, I started to move slightly away from him. I guess he was upset with me for starting the trouble with Marco. Before I could go far, though, Ranger caught my hand, squeezing it reflexively in his own.

"Did I hurt you?" he asked, his voice low, strained.

"What?"

"In Marco's office… I… I didn't mean to hurt you." He turned to me and lightly rubbed the knuckles of his free hand against the curve of my hip where he'd held me so tightly. Oh. The light bulb of realization lit up. He wasn't mad at me, he was mad at himself.

The gentle brush of his fingers was stirring all sorts sensations in me, but the brief discomfort from earlier was long forgotten. I was much more concerned with the how my knees were turning to jello and the way my breath was caught in my chest. "No… no… of course not. Ranger, I'm fine. What about you?"

Ranger flicked his eyes at the camera in the corner. "Not here," he said, but he kept my hand in his, only letting go once he'd helped me get settled into the passenger seat of the SUV. As he climbed into the truck, the phone on his belt vibrated.

With a barely audible sigh, he pulled the phone out of its holder and looked down at the read out. "I think it's for you, Babe," he said, showing the phone to me before flipping it open and answering, "Yo."

My stomach clenched, and not with hunger. The name on the screen had been Morelli.