Eliza Higgins and Henry Doolittle
Chapter 4
Ranger was up at his usual time of 5 a.m. the next morning and the first thing that entered his mind when he woke up was Stephanie Plum. He'd had a great time playing Black Ops with her the night before and a big smile split his face when he remembered her kiss.
He chuckled at how shocked she was over her actions. Apparently she wasn't used making the first move. Then again, maybe she was just shocked because she had herself convinced she didn't do relationships.
He'd felt the same way for a long time. For years he had himself convinced that because of the Special Ops missions he went on as an Army Ranger, it wasn't a good idea to fall in love and leave a woman at home to worry about whether or not he was going to return to her.
Then one time, a couple of years ago, he came home on leave and when he stepped off the plane, he looked around. Really looked this time as his fellow soldiers ran from the plane into the arms of their wives, girlfriends and in some cases, husbands and boyfriends. He read the relief on their faces, both the soldiers and their loved ones, and he realized they all had the same fears he had, but instead of shying away from relationships, each of them had found someone who understood. Someone who was brave enough to love in spite of their fears. Someone worth staying strong for, praying for, believing in, waiting for or returning home to.
After that, he decided he would keep an open mind and if someone came along and snagged his heart, he was not going to fight it. Two years passed and he wasn't any closer to finding the right woman than he was that day at the air base.
Now, a beautiful curly-haired skip tracer was making his heart beat faster and making it hard for him to keep a smile off his face. He knew her stand against relationships was just her way of protecting her heart from getting broken again. He couldn't imagine how stupid the two men he'd seen speaking to her the day before could possibly be to have had her and then screwed up and lost her. He wondered if someday she'd tell him the details.
After his five-mile run, he showered and dressed in clean black cargo pants and a black t-shirt. He checked his guns, strapped on his utility belt and grabbed his Kevlar vest from the closet.
His first stop was the bonds office. "Morning, Connie," he greeted her with a smile.
Connie looked up in surprise. "Hey, Ranger. You're looking pretty chipper this morning. What's up with that?"
Ranger handed her the two body receipts from the day before. "Got 'em both," he said proudly.
"Wow! You certainly did. Nice payday. Hang on and I'll write you a check." She pulled out the checkbook. "Did you get a chance to meet up with Stephanie yesterday?"
"Sure did. She's the reason I was able to get these two so quickly. You were right about her, she's the best."
Connie stole a quick glance at his face as she wrote out the check. She had a feeling his big smile had more to do with Stephanie than the two skips he captured. "Here you go," she said, handing him the check. Oh, and I have two new skips for you. One of them is a real creep. He can get very violent so be sure to get Stephanie's advice before you go after him."
Ranger wasn't afraid of a violent skip, but he certainly intended to get Steph's input. He took the check and files and waved goodbye to Connie on his way out the door.
He went through the drive-thu window at his bank and deposited the check, then pulled into a parking space to look through the files Connie gave him.
One was Doug Griffin who was wanted for a hit and run involving a police officer. It wasn't his first arrest and probably because an officer was hurt in the accident, the bond was jacked up to $25,000.
The other was Pete Saffron. He had been charged with robbing a convenience store, using a gun in the commission of a felony, resisting arrest and driving a stolen vehicle in the commission of a felony. It was his third arrest in the past four years. The bond was set at $50,000. It was shaping up to be another good payday.
The file for Doug Griffin said he worked at a local flea market, operating a booth selling bumper stickers, decals, posters, black lights, strobe lights and other miscellaneous items.
Ranger knew right where the flea market was. He'd been there twice already, looking at gun racks and gun paraphernalia. He decided to see if he could locate Doug before heading to Stephanie's house.
As he strolled through the flea market looking for Doug's booth, he saw a vendor selling cups, mugs, steins, picture frames and a vast array of other items that could be personalized. He stopped when he saw a blue coffee mug the same color as Stephanie's eyes.
"I'll take the blue mug," he told the vendor.
"Sure thing, buddy. Would you like a name on it? It's included in the price."
"Yeah, that would be good," Ranger told him. He gave the man the name he wanted on the cup and waited while the man stuck the mug in a machine, set up something that looked like a set of stencils and used a spray nozzle connected to a very small hose and a can of white paint to paint the name vertically on each side of the mug.
He held a heating element close to the painted letters for a few minutes, then held the mug up for Ranger's inspection. "Perfect," Ranger told him. "I thought this kind of work was computerized these days."
The man put the mug in a white box with an instruction sheet for its care. "It can be, but I am an artist," he said, pronouncing it arteest. "I paint all the names by hand. Well, with the use of my handy spray nozzle," he amended. Finally, he put the box in a plastic bag, handed it to Ranger, collected the money, and thanked him for his business.
Ranger continued to wander through the flea market and eventually found Doug's booth, but it was unattended. He was probably lying low, knowing he missed his court date. He decided to head over to Stephanie's house.
On his way, he stopped at Dunkin' Donuts and bought two blueberry muffins. When he pulled into Stephanie's driveway, he was disappointed to see that her car was not there. He wondered if she'd pulled it in to the garage after he left last night or if she was out to breakfast. He thought about heading over to the diner where he first met her, but before he could make up his mind, she appeared at the front door, motioning him to come inside.
He smiled in relief as he shut off the engine and grabbed his files and the bags with the muffins and the coffee mug. "Good morning," he greeted her cheerfully as he stepped inside.
"Good morning to you too," she said, returning his smile. "What do you have there? Do I smell blueberry muffins?" She turned and headed toward the kitchen.
"Yep. Good detective work. Your nose is working perfectly."
Stephanie grinned. "Not much gets past me when it comes to food," she confessed. "Coffee?"
"Yes, please." He placed the bags and files on the table, took a seat and set out the muffins. He gazed at her profile while she poured him a cup of coffee and refilled her own cup. She was wearing a pair of cut-off jeans and a tucked in Metallica t-shirt. Her long slender legs were lightly tanned the same hue as her arms, and her feet were bare. Her toenails were painted a pale rose color and her hair was in a pony tail. She looked adorable.
"You take yours black, right?" She remembered he didn't add anything to his coffee at the diner.
"Yes, thanks.
She placed the cup in front of him then added sugar and creamer to her cup and slid into the chair adjacent to him. She took a bite of her muffin and moaned in appreciation. "This is wonderful, thank you."
"You can have half of mine too," Ranger told her. "Sugar overdose for me if I eat the whole thing."
"I won't argue with you over that. Anything I can do to promote your good health," she said with a cheeky grin.
"You'd sacrifice your own health for mine?" he teased.
"When it comes to food, yes. And, I'm nosy enough to want to know what's in the other bag even though my nose doesn't detect anything edible."
Ranger picked up the bag and placed it in front of her. "Just a little something I picked up for you at the flea market this morning."
"You've already been to the flea market? Doug Griffin must be FTA again."
She opened the bag, pulled out the box and took off the lid. She pulled out the blue mug that said BABE down each side in white letters. What was with him calling her Babe? "Thanks, Sugar," she said, smiling sweetly at him. "It's very pretty. What did I do to deserve this?"
"It matches your eyes," he told her. "But, you've got to stop calling me Sugar and Sweetie. I'm trying to build a badass reputation in this town," he said with a grin. "And you're not helping."
Stephanie studied his face for a moment. "You don't look like a badass."
"What? Of course I do. Plenty of people back off when they see me coming. Babe, please tell me you're just kidding."
She sipped some coffee from her cup and made him wait for her reply. Finally, she said, "Nah, I just don't see it. Maybe if I were FTA or had never met you, I'd think you were a badass, but I've seen you smile, laugh, play video games and catch popcorn in your mouth. Not a badass."
"Babe," Ranger said with a defeated sigh.
"Okay, well I did see a blank look on your face when we ran into Morelli and Dickie. That face was a little intimidating because I couldn't tell what you were thinking. I think Morelli was a little intimidated too since he let me walk away without causing any problems."
"Well, at least that's something. Everyone in the Rangers can pull off the blank face look."
"Is that so the enemy can't get useful information from you?"
"No, it's so we can win at poker during our downtime."
Stephanie let out a small laugh. "Are you pulling my leg?"
Ranger leaned back and glanced at her sexy legs under the table. "Not yet I'm not. But don't think it hasn't crossed my mind." He gave her a sexy smile and chuckled when her face turned a light shade of pink.
She decided to change the subject. "So, any luck picking up Doug at the flea market?"
"No, his booth was unattended."
Stephanie nodded. "He usually avoids it when he's FTA. You'll probably find him at his sister's house. Her address should be in the file. Who else do you need to pick up?" she asked, noticing he had two files on the table.
Ranger handed her the second file. "Not a nice guy."
She flipped open the file and grimaced when she saw the photo of Pete Saffron. Reading through the page with the charges against him, she said, "You'll need backup for this one. You'll find him down on Stark Street, but that isn't a place you want to go alone to pick up a scumbag like this. You have someone to use as a partner?"
"No. I'll just have to plan it well and make sure I don't take any unnecessary chances."
"Absolutely not," Steph said shaking her head. "Never, ever head to Stark Street to pick up a violent fugitive on your own. I'll go with you."
Ranger was taking a sip of his coffee and almost choked on it. "Not a chance."
"Bull pucky," she said. "It's been a while since I've brought in a skip, but it isn't like I've forgotten how." She stood up and headed out of the room. "I'll be right back."
Five minutes later, she came back into the kitchen wearing jeans with her t-shirt, a utility belt and a flack jacket. Ranger had to stifle a moan. Just as he suspected, she looked hot. Sexy as hell. "Babe, I'm not taking you down to Stark Street with me."
"Give it up, Sweetie, because if you don't take me with you, I'll just follow you. Then we'll have two vehicles in a bad part of town instead of one and it'll be harder to communicate." She took the lid off her cookie jar and pulled out a .38.
Ranger sighed. "Why do you need the .38 when you have a Glock in your belt?"
Steph added the .38 to the collection of weapons on her belt. Cuffs, pepper spray, stun gun, Glock, .38 Special. "I'm hoping not to have to use either," she told him. "I'd rather use the .38 than the Glock, but would never head down to Stark Street without both."
Ranger stood from the table and stepped close to her. She looked up and their eyes met. "Stephanie, look, I can't do this. I'd never forgive myself if something happened to you. You have to stay here and let me handle this."
She gave a slight shrug. "And I'd never forgive myself if something happened to you because I let you go down there by yourself. Plus, if you think you're going to tell me what I'm allowed or not allowed to do, our friendship isn't going to last very long. I'll be passing you in the diner parking lot wishing I didn't know you, the way I do Morelli and the Dick."
Ouch! That caused Ranger to take a step back and blink. Holy hell, she was blackmailing him with their future friendship. He'd rather see her safe and not be friends with her than have something happen to her. But, she was right about one thing. He didn't have the right to tell her what she could and couldn't do. "Alright, but on the way down there, we're going to discuss a plan and a backup plan."
"Fine," Stephanie agreed. "I'm all for having a couple of good plans considering the last time I went after him, he shot me."
Christ! Ranger turned and grabbed the edge of the table thinking he might pass out. "Babe, I wasn't going to say anything since we just met, but ... I think I'm falling in love with you and you're killing me here."
Stephanie turned and grabbed the edge of the table thinking she might faint. This man had plans to blow her whole no relationship status to smithereens and some traitorous part of her didn't want to stop him.
A/N – Thank you once again for the wonderful feedback. I'm delighted that so many of you are enjoying the story. Hope you like this chapter too.