They're not mine and I'm not making any money…
Thank you all for reading and for all of the wonderful reviews! I want to give a big thanks to Harmne and haleigh.l for their help with editing… And other than that, please enjoy!
What Happens in Vegas
Chapter 8
It was comfortable, lying there like that, with him holding me. I'd completely given up trying to sleep away from him lately, since it seems we always wake up tangled together. We lay there for quite a while, but neither of us spoke again. The last thing I remember, is the gentle rise and fall of Ranger's chest evening out as he fell asleep.
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"Babe, wake up," I heard as a hand played across my shoulders.
Cracking one eye, I determined that it was not nearly light enough to be an hour acceptable for me to be awake, so I snapped the eye shut and pretended to be asleep.
"Babe," I heard again, but a bit more insistently. "I know you're awake."
"I was trying to fix that," I said, rolling and staring up at Ranger. He was dressed in running clothes, but he was shining with sweat so I assumed he'd already been on his run.
Next, looking at the clock, I saw that it was six in the morning. The meeting wasn't until eight. I didn't need to be up for another hour. He didn't honestly think it took me that long to get ready did he?
"I know you don't need two hours," Ranger said, using his ESP. "We're going to the gym."
"You're going to the gym," I corrected, pulling my pillow over my head and hoping he'd get the message.
"Nope. You got to sleep in yesterday. Today you go to the gym," he said, pulling the pillow away and peeling back the blankets.
I just curled into a ball. I was going back to sleep... Or not, I thought, as a pair of sweats and a tank top flew from the direction of the dresser and landed on me. More than likely, I wasn't going to win this, so I might as well get it over with.
"Fine. You win," I announced, pulling myself from bed and shooing Ranger from the room.
I pulled on the sweats, dug out a sports bra and put it and the tank top on, grumbling the entire time. Going into the bathroom, I gave my teeth a quick brush and pulled my hair into a pony tail. Maybe if it was scary I'd frighten the Merry Men and not be allowed back in the gym…
Heading out into the apartment, I found Ranger waiting patiently for me. I gave him a death glare, but he just lifted an eyebrow. I really wish that death glare worked. We left the apartment and took the elevator to the third floor. Climbing off of it, I followed Ranger into the gym. I'd never really spent much time here… well, none actually after visiting during my tour of the building when I started working here.
Mildly curious, I looked around and saw a few Rangemen here and there, working with weights, sparing, running on a treadmill. Eyeing all of the equipment, I wondered what Ranger expected me to do.
"I'm going to teach you some self defense," Ranger informed me, as I noticed we'd stopped in the middle of a large mat.
"Huh?" I asked eloquently.
"Self defense, Babe," he repeated. "I agree that we should wait until we have the mess with this stalker cleared up befoe we deal with getting a divorce. But there are still plenty of people out there who would love to get a hold of you to get to me. I don't want you getting hurt because you're tied to me for the time being."
"Oh," I said. I guess it made sense to learn to take care of myself if there were going to be more crazies after me. That may be more than my luck could handle. "Let's get going then. I've got the crotch kick down, but other than that, I've got nothing."
"All right," Ranger said, and then quicker than lightning he had my arms held tightly behind my back.
"Hey, that hurts," I protested.
"Sorry," Ranger said, loosening the hold a bit, but not letting go. "How would you get out of this?"
Thinking for a minute, I tugged on my arms but couldn't free them. I tried turning so I could kick him, but that just further twisted my arms into a position that really hurt.
"Probably I would get kidnapped," I said finally, when none of my tugging had gotten me free.
After that, Ranger demonstrated how I should get out of the hold. He then let me put him in the hold and had me practice keeping someone in it. By the time we were done, my arms felt like jelly but I didn't think they'd be too sore.
When we had been working for an hour, we stopped and headed up to the apartment. I had to admit that I did feel good, other than the exhaustion of my arms. This was much better than running.
In the elevator, Ranger noticed me rubbing my arms and started massaging them. It felt wonderful, and my tired muscles started to feel better too… Relaxing back into him as he moved up to my shoulders, I sighed in contentment. I love this man; I caught myself thinking and tensed.
"Babe?" Ranger asked, noticing the sudden tension.
"Just an extra sore spot," I said, making a conscious effort to relax again.
I don't think he bought it, but he didn't say anything and went back to massaging.
In the apartment, Ranger sent me off to the shower first, telling me not to run the water too hot or it would make my muscles worse. And as good as a hot shower sounded right now, I listened.
Out of the shower, I wrapped myself in a towel and headed for the dressing area in Ranger's closet and then called out to let him know the shower was free. My hairdryer and makeup were out here on the vanity so I flipped upside down and started drying my hair to drown out the sound of the shower running. Thoughts of a wet, naked Ranger were not what I needed right now. Too late.
I just about had my hair dry and myself under control when the man himself walked through in nothing but a towel to get his clothes.
"Pretty scary, Babe," he said, eyeing the puff ball that was my hair as he carried his clothes back to the bathroom.
I just sighed as I went about taming it. I wasn't even going to bother trying to get rid of the image of Ranger in a towel. It wouldn't work. Living with him definitely presented challenges.
While I worked on my hair, Ranger passed through and headed for the kitchen. I could hear him talking and I assumed he was calling Ella. I'd better hurry if I wanted breakfast before the meeting. Just as I was adding the last swipe of mascara, I heard the blender start and thought with dread about the awful smoothies Ranger liked in the morning. I would draw the line at drinking one of those for breakfast.
I wandered into the kitchen just in time to see Ranger dropping the last piece of fruit Ella had brought into the blender. He must have caught the face I was making at his breakfast, because he laughed before telling me my breakfast was on the bar.
Curious, I wandered over and felt a smile spread across my face at the sight of a Tasty Pastry bag. Peeking inside, I spotted two Boston Crèmes. That even made up for the fact that a plate of apple slices was placed strategically in front of the bag.
Deciding that I could eat some fruit if Ranger could bring me doughnuts, I ate the apple first. And I only dropped one slice into Rex's cage. I was just taking the first bite of my doughnut when Ranger came over, sipping his smoothie.
"Thank you," I said, smiling as I licked powdered sugar from my lips.
"I picked them up during my run. I figured you'd deserve them after I drug you out of bed early."
"Mmm, this definitely makes it all better," I said, taking another bite, and then in a surge of generosity, I held the doughnut out, offering Ranger a bite.
"You want a sip of my smoothie?" Ranger countered.
"Not really." I crinkled my nose at the very thought.
"That's how I feel about your doughnut."
"You're a strange man, Ranger Manoso," I said, shaking my head.
That just caused him to grin. "You married me."
"And I have no idea why," I teased.
After that, we both finished our breakfasts in silence. We'd been moving into dangerous territory with that conversation and seemed to have a silent agreement not to talk for a while. Or maybe it was just me, since Ranger didn't talk much anyway.
When we were done eating, it was time to head down for the meeting. I was curious about whether or not the guys had found out anything about our stalker and if so, what.
On the fifth floor, we headed for the conference room. Most of the guys hadn't seen Ranger and me together yet, so when we walked in they gave us some curious looks. Turning my head towards Ranger, I saw his eyes narrow almost imperceptibly and the guys suddenly became very interested in the reports in front of them.
Ranger took a seat at the head of the table and I took the empty chair beside him. Once we were seated, Tank stood and began the meeting. He went over all of the stuff we already knew first, like me getting shot at, Ranger getting shot, my apartment being vandalized, and Ranger's car being keyed. I was just about to give in and start zoning out when he nodded to Lester who picked up with new information.
"All of the bullets used were the same type, leading us to believe there was one shooter. We were able to identify the prints picked up from Bomber's apartment and they are a match to the partial print picked up from the Porsche. The prints belong to Blake Harper."
He paused there, giving us time to think. That name sounded familiar, but I couldn't place it. Thinking harder didn't help, so I turned my head towards Ranger hoping he'd enlighten me.
"Harper was one of my skips," Ranger said. That didn't explain why I was recognizing the name though. "When we apprehended him, you did distraction."
"So, he's angry that we apprehended him," I said.
"More than likely he's fixated on you and doesn't like the fact that you're off the market," said Lester. "His activities have centered around your apartment so far, indicating that he's watching you but he seems to be targeting Ranger as well."
"Oh." I turned back to Ranger. "Sorry."
"Not your fault, Babe," he said before turning back to the meeting. "Can someone get the recording from Steph's mike?"
"Yeah," said Woody as he got up and headed out the door.
"You keep those?" I asked Ranger. I wasn't sure how I felt about that.
"Don't worry too much. The guys know not to listen to them unless something like this comes up."
"Good," I said, relieved. There were some things I'd said to get skips out of bars that I would not like the guys to have the opportunity to listen to more than once.
Soon after that, Woody came back with the CD. It was quickly popped into the conference room's sound system and soon the sound of fabric rustling filled the room.
"Go get 'em, Tiger," I heard Ranger's voice say, a bit deeper than normal. I felt myself turn pink with the knowledge that he had probably just finished kissing me as he pulled his hand out of my dress.
"Yeah," I agreed. My voice was a bit husky as well. Please, please, please, I begged God, don't let it be one of the nights that he drug me back in for another kiss.
I heard fabric rustle and almost sighed in relief, thinking it was me moving to get out of the car, but then I heard myself moan. Damn, this is embarrassing. And Ranger must have agreed, since he got up and started fast forwarding the disk. After a few seconds, the room was thankfully filled with the sounds of a bar.
"Ooops," I said, in a falsely cheery voice. "I don't think these heels mix very well with margaritas," and then I giggled.
"No, doesn't look like they do," we heard as Harper's voice filtered through conference room. "Why don't you take a seat here by me, so you don't trip again?"
"Thank you." I let out another giggle.
"Any time, Darlin'. What are you doing here alone?"
"I was with my friends, but they met these twins and started dancing and I don't know where they went," I heard myself ramble.
"A pretty thing like you shouldn't be all by yourself," he said, and I had a distinct memory of him rubbing my thigh and shuddered. "I'm Blake Harper."
"Stephanie. You're sweet. Are you by yourself?"
"Sure am."
"Then we can sit together and neither of us will be alone," I said, sounding quite happy with myself.
"There's an idea if I ever heard one," he replied and then called the bartender over. I recognized the bartender's voice as Bobby, so I shot him a look. From the crease in his brow, he must have been remembering Harper's creepiness too.
While we waited for our drinks, I started asking him about himself and he was playing right along. Our drinks arrived and when I could hear myself making sipping noises, I had to smile. It was hard work pretending to drink with out actually drinking…
"I wanna dance," I eventually heard myself say.
"Should I take that as I hint that you want me to ask you?" Harper asked with a laugh.
"Yes."
"Would you like to dance," he asked then, in what was meant to be a suave voice.
"I would love to."
We didn't talk while we danced, but after a while I heard myself speak up again.
"I'm getting warm. I need to get some fresh air, but I'm a bit drunk. Will you come out with me?"
"Sure thing, Darlin'," Harper replied.
The bar sounds began to fade and a door was opened. I could hear my heels clicking on the macadam and then the distinctive snap of a pair of handcuffs.
"Blake Harper, you're in violation of your bond agreement," I heard Lester say. "We represent your bond company and will be escorting you back into the legal system."
"Don't worry about me Darlin'," I heard Harper calling. "Tonight was fun. Maybe I'll look you up again some time."
I heard car doors open and close, and remembered Tank and Lester shoving Harper into the back of a Bronco. Next was Ranger's voice saying, "Babe, I don't think he knew you were with us," but it was covered by the rusting of cloth. After that, the mike shut off.
"So, how'd he figure out who Steph is?" Ranger asked as the room fell silent. I hadn't given him my last name while we talked.
"It's possible he's been watching us," Bobby spoke up.
Ranger gave that a nod and the idea was written down.
"He may have seen her in the news," offered Ram. "Bombshell's not exactly low profile." Another nod.
"With some time to think he could have figured out she was with us," said Tank. "She's pretty much the only woman that works with us." That got a nod also.
"Okay," Ranger said, "so to figure out who Steph is, Harper is already displaying some interest. Interest isn't good. Lester, I want you to go figure out what Harper is up to these days. If he's out of prison, he must be on probation. Talk to his probation officer. Ram, Woody, I want you to canvas his neighborhood. See if there's any talk about what he's into. Tank, you're with Steph today and Bobby you're with me. Questions?"
After a moment of silence, Ranger gave the guys nods which they returned then went to work. I just rolled my eyes.
"What are your plans for the day?" Ranger asked me once it was just us, Tank and Bobby in the room.
"I thought I'd stop by the office and pick up some more files. I only have one left from the other day and I might as well take advantage of having Tank with me," I said, linking my arm through his.
"Okay, be safe," he told me, tucking a curl behind my ear and cupping my cheek.
"You too," I replied, covering his hand with mine.
We locked eyes and Ranger got a look similar, but not quite like, the one he gets when he's about to kiss me. All I know, is I was unable to look away. I'm not sure how long we stayed like that, just staring at each other, but eventually there was a not-so-subtle throat clearing from one of the guys.
"Uh, see you tonight then," I said, dropping my eyes and feeling my face turn pink again.
"Yeah," Ranger agreed, pulling his hand away from my cheek.
After that, he and Bobby took off to do whatever it is Batman does all day and I was left standing there with Tank. Lifting my eyes up and up some more, I saw he was watching me with a smirk on his face and the smirk was growing into a smile.
"What?" I asked.
"Nothing," he said, wiping the smile from his face, but I could still see the amusement in his eyes.
"Right," I replied, giving him an eye roll. "Let's go."
In the garage, I got ahead of Tank and tried to get in the driver's seat of the Bronco, but he picked me up and redirected me to the passenger's side. He once again reminded me that women drive in his bed, not in his car and I pretended to pout. It had become something of a game between us.
Not much later, we made it to the bonds office. I'd been a bit nervous about being double teamed by Lula and Connie again, but Lula was sufficiently distracted by Tank.
"Any files?" I asked Connie.
"Yeah," she said, handing me a pile. "And those are for you too," she said, indicating a massive bouquet of red roses on the coffee table in front of the couch. "Is there something you want to tell me about how married life is treating you?"
"Uh, no," I said, staring at the roses. Somehow I didn't think Ranger had sent them. "Hey Tank, can you come look at this?"
When Tank didn't answer, I took my eyes away from the roses and saw that he was still completely wrapped up in whatever Lula was telling him. Shaking my head, I walked over to them, grabbed Tank by the utility belt and tugged him in the direction of the coffee table. Not that it moved him, but it got his attention.
"Yeah, Bomber?" he asked, while Lula gave me a death glare.
"There's a vase of flowers for me," I said, pointing at the flowers.
"You interrupted the story I was telling my man to tell him your man sent you flowers?" Lula asked sticking a hand on her hip.
"I don't think they're from Ranger," I said.
"Then who would they be from? Please don't tell me they're from Super-cop."
"Steph and Ranger have a stalker, Honey," Tank said in a soothing voice I'd never heard before as he reached out and toyed with one of Lula's braids. "I need to go have a look at the flowers."
"Is that why you're with my girl today?" Lula asked, following Tank over to the coffee table.
"Yeah," Tank answered.
After that, he stared at the flowers for a minute. I wasn't sure what he was looking for but eventually he determined them to be safe, picked up the vase and turned it round and round looking at it. Then, he sat the flowers back down and pawed through them. Once satisfied that nothing was going to blow up or harm me, he plucked the note from the holder, careful to only touch the edges, and handed it to me.
Scrunching my eyes shut, I carefully opened the little envelope and pulled out the card. I tried to open my eyes, but I couldn't bring myself to do it. In the end, I held the card out to Tank and only opened my eyes when he took it.
"Not good, Bomber," he said after a minute.
"How not good?"
"Here, read it," Tank said, handing me the card.
Forcing my eyes to it, I read the loopy script inside. Stephanie, it began, Your marriage to Manoso is not acceptable. He is the man who separated us. Didn't you think I would come back to you when I was free again? Imagine my surprise when shortly after my release the streets are buzzing with the news that the great Ranger Manoso got married. And then to find out that you are the wife and you are a bounty hunter. Don't worry, Manoso will be eliminated and maybe I'll even give you a second chance. Blake
"Definitely not good," I agreed with Tank once I was done reading. "What do we do now?"
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A/N: Thanks so much for reading! Please review, I love the feedback, and I'd love to hear what you think of Blake, Ranger and Steph, or anything else!