I got a review for this story a while back with something along the lines of 'why haven't you updated'. I have to admit I get a lot of shit for taking forever to update. And that's okay, because that means there's someone waiting for an update, but what rubs me the wrong way is when it goes as far as stating that not posting is my 'MO'. That makes it sound like I've never completed a story, which isn't the case. The thing is I don't wait until I have story almost done before I post the first chapter. For me the feedback of the readers works well in shaping the story and making it reach that place I planned for it to go when the idea came to me. Anyway, I know I've lost readers and that's too bad (for them- I do this because I want to, not because I'm obligated to). I'd rather take an 'eternity' to post something I'm satisfied with, than posting a useless filler chapter. I mean, if I don't like what I posted what makes me think the readers will? So, with that being said (and I hope this will be the last time I have to clarify this), just because a story isn't complete doesn't mean it's abandoned.
To everyone else who has been patient and supportive, thank you. I would send you a naked Ranger, but then I'd probably be on Stephanie's listXD
Excuse my rant, but sometimes the 'comments' thrown my way feel more along the lines of an attack rather than a 'hey, I'm waiting. Post already!'. It's not anyone's business to know what's going on in my real life, but I almost took my crazy imagination to the audience in the sky. I've suffered from migraines for a long time now and last week a really nasty one interrupted the blood flow and caused a part of my brain to not be properly oxygenated. I was sitting in class and I felt like my time had come and I was going to die. It was scary but thankfully I didn't and after several days in the hospital I'm still working on getting back to my 'normal self'. The incident scrambled my brain pretty good, so I decided to end the wait and go ahead and post what I had before my close call. Before this happened to me, I had already decided I was going to try and finish this story this holiday season, so since that almost didn't happen, I'm going to keep my personal promise.
As far as my other stories, I've got half chapters completed for several of them (Heated, Desperate and Midnight Indulgence to name a few).
Oh, and just in case we forgot: we left Steph and Ranger in the last chapter when Ranger realized he was dragging a naked Stephanie.
Disclaimer: The Plum universe belongs to JE.
Just when the sexual tension peaked to a higher level where returning wouldn't be possible, Ranger's phone rang. The loud sound startled us, effectively interrupting the moment and breaking the magnetism that took a hold of us for several long beats. I was saved by the bell. Well, sort of.
"Yo." Ranger answered without tearing his eyes off of me. I could tell that the heat was still there even if he was working to put it under wraps.
I shivered involuntarily and felt the goose bumps from my hairline down to my toes. That reminded me of the fact that I was still very naked and standing before Mr. Handsome Stranger.
He ended the call and as he slid his phone inside his pocket, his dark eyes met mine. "We have to go." I thought I detected a hint of disappointment somewhere behind the walls he rebuilt.
"Like now?" I scoffed, waving my hand across myself to point out my nakedness. Ranger arched a perfect eyebrow in question at me as if the fact that I was naked was no issue. "Ugh!" I rolled my eyes at him and rushed towards my bedroom.
I slipped on a worn pair of sweats and a hooded sweatshirt, not bothering with panties and a bra. They were the first things I spotted in my closet and so they would have to do. Just when I was putting on some socks and stuffing my feet inside my sneakers, Ranger entered my bedroom.
"Clock's ticking." Ranger said as he signaled for me to follow him. I trailed after Ranger as we moved out of my apartment and exited my building.
"Fuck!" I cursed as soon as I stepped outside. I didn't get a chance to dry my body, much less my hair. The air was chilly and I was half afraid I was going to freeze before I made it to his car.
Without a word, Ranger backed out of the parking spot as soon as my but slid onto the leather seat and I slammed the door closed. He fiddled with some buttons on the console as he drove off the parking lot. Immediately, the car and the seat warmed me up. "Oh, I could kiss you." As soon as the words tumbled past my lips I regretted them.
"Babe." I thought I detected a hint of a smile on his lips, but even that didn't make the blush feel less intense.
We rode in silence for several moments. That was fine with me, so I gave myself a few minutes to finish getting warm as I tried to calm down my raging hormones. I had no clue what was crossing Ranger's mind, so once I felt sufficiently calm I decided to start asking questions.
"Where are we going?" I paid attention to the world zipping by outside of the car and realized we were headed towards Newark.
"There's someone who wants to speak with you." That was it. He didn't elaborate further.
"Why didn't they contact me directly so that I could meet with them?" I frowned as I tried to figure out who could want to talk to me.
Ranger let out a small sigh and told me to wait. "You'll know soon enough." It could have been my imagination, but I detected a slight acceleration as he finished the sentence.
The ride felt short, but then again the warmth in the car made me drowsy. But as soon as I felt him slow and hook a left onto a quiet residential street, I sat up straighter. I didn't recognize the neighborhood, but judging by the house where Ranger parked it was definitely an expensive one.
I entered the house right behind him and as soon as the door clicked shut behind us, I realized we weren't alone.
"You're here." A woman called for us to join her in the kitchen. It was my turn to arch my eyebrow at Ranger. Well, I tried anyway. I wasn't very successful.
"This way." Again, I thought I detected the hint of a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.
I followed Ranger and decided he had a great ass. The man must work out a lot.
"Stephanie Plum." I was too distracted with Ranger's fine derrière that I was startled when the woman greeted me.
"You?" I scanned her from head to toe, just to double check that it really was her. Tonight she didn't look like a streetwalker. Nope, tonight she was dressed in a grey pantsuit and a crisp white shirt. Her makeup was minimum and her hair was pulled back into a bun. At first glance she didn't look like the same woman I met standing on a lonely corner on Stark Street last night.
Lula sipped some coffee before she flashed me her badge. "I'm Special Agent Tallulah."
"Why am I suddenly of interest to the FBI?" I crossed my arms over my chest, mostly because I wasn't wearing a bra and not so much because it was a defensive mechanism.
Agent T blew out a sigh as she glanced at her watch. "Look, you attracted attention all by yourself. Pretty white woman strolling around Stark Street?" She shook her head at me, giving me a 'what did you expect' type of look.
Defensiveness of my independence flared up. Everyone keeps telling me that I shouldn't attract attention or that I should stay away from the bad guys like Ramirez. The fact that I was being treated like this was my first rodeo pissed me the hell off. I've never been good at hiding my emotions, especially when I'm angry. To Agent T's credit, she acknowledged the change in my mood and changed her tactic.
"Something big is about to go down on Stark." She didn't give much details, keeping her whole undercover involvement vague. Figures. She's with the FBI after all. "There's joint cooperation from different agencies along with various free agents." Her dark eyes flickered over to where Ranger was standing, silently hinting that Ranger was working with the government on whatever this case was. "We were this close to cracking the case wide open to finally dismantle the organization." She made a gesture with her hands to indicate how close it had been.
"What happened?" I asked just to see where this was going. Somehow I don't think that the FBI goes around 'warning' people away from potential dangerous scenarios.
"Our informant was neutralized before I could meet with her." Agent T's face went blank, effectively hiding her emotions.
I felt my chest tighten as realization dawned on me. "Your informant wouldn't happen to have been Carmen Sanchez?"
Special Agent Tallulah's face hardened, confirming her true cop nature. "How can you possible know that?"
I scoffed. "Really? The woman was murdered and found in the dumpsters behind Quaker Bridge Mall." A murder of that sort doesn't quite say 'accident'.
Something I couldn't quite catch flashed across her eyes, but before she could make a comment her phone buzzed. She unclipped it from the waistband of her slacks, blew out another heavy sigh and said she had to go. "Off the record, keep your eyes open." Her parting goodbye consisted of her saying something about there being too many casualties in this war already.
S&R
The ride back to Trenton was spent in silence once again. I couldn't possibly know what Ranger was thinking about, but I was replaying the meeting with Agent Tallulah over and over in my mind. Reading between the lines I realized that she must've caught a vibe from me when we first met. Now that I know she's undercover I'll be less likely to interfere with whatever she's working on, or so could be her reasoning. I hardly doubt that she was thinking about my well being when she decided she had to sneak out of her post on Stark to chat with me. My guess is she wants to ensure I won't blow off her cover.
When we got back to my apartment building, Ranger found an open parking space right in front of the door. I shot him a killer look. In all the time I've lived here, whether it's day or night, I've never found a good parking spot. Ever. Mostly, I end up parking next to the dumpster.
As we sat in silence in the car, I decided to bring up his involvement in finding Lucille. "Harry said he also hired you to look for Lucille." And then a thought hit me. What if he did all this to scare me off so that he could be the one to find Lucille?
"You walked into a power war, Babe." His expression was serious and he looked me straight in the eye.
I didn't quite know how to interpret that, so I gave him a two finger wave as I angled out of his heavenly car. As I hurried back inside my building I decided that things were going to get crazier before the waters settled.