A/N: All recognizable characters belong to Janet Evanovich. I use them for fun and not profit.
Chapter 12
Ranger was waiting for me when I pulled into my parking lot. I did a double take when I saw him. I'd made a quick stop to pick up a quart of Ben and Jerry's, but I was still surprised he'd beaten me home. His Porsche was parked in the back corner of my lot and despite the cold winter night he was leaning motionless against the side of his car, arms folded across his wind-jacketed chest. I thought about pretending I hadn't seen him, but that would just be putting off the inevitable.
I got out of my car and walked toward him attributing the sudden shivering of my body to the winter wind. I was in denial. I looked him full in the face as I walked closer. It was still a little shock to see him without his long hair. It didn't take anything away from his bad-ass image. If anything it made him look more business-like, and I was afraid he thought I was his business.
"Are you expecting company?" he asked as I stopped in front of him.
"No," I said. "I don't make a habit of entertaining in my apartment on a first date." I was waving a red flag at the bull and I knew it.
"You shouldn't be dating at all," Ranger said. "Technically you're still a married woman."
"Not for long. I hired Albert this morning."
"Babe, we need to talk."
"You said that last night, Ranger."
"Last night didn't go at all as planned." I thought about that for a moment.
"Come on up," I said. "We really do need to talk." We were going to talk about the trackers and how soon he could take them off my car. I was going to tell him I'd paid Albert thirty-five thousand dollars to handle the divorce. He was going to see I was serious.
As we walked into the lobby the elevator door swung open. Mrs. Bestler was working the late shift. She stood by the control panel in a quilted polyester housecoat and purple fuzzy slippers. Her meager bangs were wrapped around an antique brush roller held in place by a pink pick. Ranger headed for the stairs. I hooked my arm through his and pulled him through the elevator door.
"Good evening, Mrs. Bestler. Second floor please."
We made the short trip in silence. As the door swung open Mrs. Bestler announced "Second floor, ladies' better dresses, lingerie." We stepped out and turned to walk toward my apartment. We came to a halt with perfect synchronization. A stick figure had been drawn on my door. A white bra and panties riddled with stab marks were taped to the stick figure in the appropriate areas. It was identical to the underwear from the photograph. The words 'leave him alone' were scrawled in red paint above the stick figure.
I dropped the ice cream and my purse. Little spots danced in front of my eyes. I felt Ranger's arm go around me, his voice in my ears, "Breathe, Babe." I stood still while I watched him pull his phone from his pocket and take a picture of the door. He walked close and used the key I'd seen him use before, being careful not to touch the door. This time I watched more closely and I saw him move the key up and down in the lock. There was a click and the door swung open. I was seeing the wizard in action, but I was too distressed by the message on the door to appreciate it.
He came back and picked up my purse and the ice cream and took my arm.
"Be careful not to touch the door," he said.
We walked through and I took the ice cream from him. I went to the kitchen and found a spoon. I opened the carton and dug in. It didn't occur to me to offer Ranger a spoon. He seemed to be in control. I was not.
As I walked back into the living room, he asked, "Do you want to call Morelli or do you want me to?"
"I'll call Morelli," I said, "but give me five minutes." I set the ice cream down long enough to peel off my coat and plop on the sofa. I saw Ranger's eyes skim over the shirt I'd worn to impress Rob. The darkening of his eyes made me think he appreciated it too, but then the curtain came down and his blank face was back.
He sat in silence and watched me as I ate half the quart of 'Karamel Sutra.' I got up and took the remainder to the freezer and turned to find Ranger standing behind me phone in hand.
"Call Babe, or I will."
I took the phone and called Morelli. His voice was scratchy and obviously I'd interrupted his sleep. I checked my watch and was surprised to see it was almost midnight. The time I spent with Rob had passed quickly.
"Sorry to wake you, but there has been another incident," I told him. I explained the message on the door and heard his grumble.
"Okay, I'll get a team over there and we'll check for prints and anything else we can find. It'll be a bit. Are you okay there by yourself?"
"Yeah, I'm okay and I'm not alone." I was hesitant to tell him Ranger was there. Joe had tried recently to warn me off Ranger and I didn't want him to get the wrong idea.
"Well," I said as I disconnected, "You said you wanted to talk. You've got maybe thirty minutes until Joe gets here." As I attempted to walk past Ranger his arm wrapped around my waist halting my progress. He pulled me against him.
"Why are you dating a male stripper?"
"Why did you and Tank see me with a male stripper?" I asked. "Was it coincidence or was it the infamous RangeMan tracking system? Why won't you back off and let me live my life?"
He shook his head slightly side to side and said, "I don't know if I can." His arms tightened around me and I became aware of the closeness of our bodies. Ranger walked me backwards and I brushed up against the counter. He dipped his head and while my brain was screaming no I was lifting my face and parting my lips to accept his.
His mouth fastened onto mine and I was lost. I arched my back to strengthen the contact between us. His hips rotated against my pelvis and I could feel every inch of his erection. My heartbeat was erratic, my breath coming in little gasps as we broke the kiss for milliseconds to draw in air and then continue. Desire was a living thing within me, coiling out from my core and bringing a warm tingling wave of pleasure with it. His grip loosened and his hands cupped my breasts. His thumbs glided softly over my pebbled nipples standing at attention under my shirt. We were fully clothed and I was seconds away from an orgasm when he pulled back with a softly uttered curse.
Over the roar of blood in my ears I heard a faint knocking.
"It can't be Morelli. It's too soon," he said. He pulled me to the door and looked through the peep-hole. "It's the crazy lady from the elevator."
I took a few seconds to compose myself before I slid the door open. Mrs. Bestler had removed her hair curler and was finger combing her bangs. Her eyes darted from the underwear hanging on my door, to Ranger, and then settled on me. "Stephanie," she began. "I don't want to interrupt you and your young man, but I'm off duty now and I wanted to say something before I went home. I'm happy to see you with a new gentleman friend. I was worried all day since I saw your cousin with your old boyfriend. I didn't think that was right."
"My cousin?" I asked.
"Yes, dear. Your cousin, you know, the one I met when she delivered a gift for you. I saw them at Fiorelli's today. They couldn't keep their hands off of each other." I felt Ranger come to stand close behind me. Mrs. Bestler continued, "I thought your feelings would be hurt because she was with that Morelli man, but I see you've got another hot one on the line." She winked at Ranger and turned and ambled down the hall. She turned at the stairway to make her way to her apartment when Joe came bounding up the stairs. She shook her head at him making a tsk, tsk sound and clacking her dentures as she punched him in the arm. Joe stopped and looked at her in surprise, but when she kept on going he turned his attention to Ranger and me standing in my doorway. Ranger stepped into the hall and together they examined my door. I walked back into the apartment and sat on the sofa to consider what I just learned.
In some ways it made perfect sense. Physically, Terry fit the description of my stalker. Blonde, well built, pretty. But why would she leave me gifts of expensive lingerie and then threaten my life. When Terry was a senior in high school she was a cheerleader and prom queen. She had her pick of any guy and she chose Joe. She'd been a 38D who was fond of wearing tight sweaters while I'd been a sophomore struggling to fill out a training bra. I was no competition for her then or now. She clearly had Joe's affection. He was still seeing her after she'd been caught in a compromising position with his cousin. He was still seeing her even though her family had big-time mob connections.
The Trenton P.D. team arrived and dusted the door for fingerprints. Ranger stood in the hall, silently for the most part. Occasionally he made a comment to Joe or answered a question from one of the technicians.
I went to the freezer and removed the half-eaten quart of ice cream. I was staring at the bottom of the carton when Joe and Ranger walked in, closing my now naked door behind them.
"We got a couple of partials off the door," Joe said. "We'll check and see if they match the fingerprint from the business card. I don't know what we'll find on the underwear. Early indications are the red marks around the stab wounds aren't blood. We'll check to see if it's the same paint that was used on the underwear your stalker delivered to you. I think someone's trying hard to scare you, Cupcake."
I looked from Joe to Ranger. "It's working. I think I know who my stalker is, Joe." I didn't relish telling him, especially in front of Ranger, but he had to know. I thought this could be the death knell to his relationship with Terry and I didn't want to be responsible for that even in this circumstance.
"Were you and Terry at Fiorelli's today?" I asked.
Joe's brows drew together in a frown. "Yeah, we had lunch there."
I sighed, "Mrs. Bestler was just here. She saw the woman that said she was my cousin. Mrs. Bestler was at Fiorelli's today and she saw my 'cousin'-the one who brought me a gift-with you."
"Terry?" Joe sounded surprised. "Mrs. Bestler is a crazy old bat. Terry's not your stalker."
"Do you have a picture of Terry with you?" I asked.
He nodded and pulled out his wallet opening it to show me.
Mindless of the time, I picked up my phone and called Dillon. I was relieved to hear the TV in the background, so at least I didn't wake him up. "Hi, it's Stephanie. Could you run up here for a moment, Dillon?"
Less than two minutes later there was a knock on the door. I opened the door to see Dillon staring at the mess. "Bummer, Steph," he said. "I'll get that painted first thing tomorrow."
"Come in for a minute, Dillon," I said. "I want to ask you something." I took the wallet from Joe and opened it up to the picture of Terry. "Do you recognize this woman?"
Dillon looked for a moment and all of us saw recognition dawn on him. "Yeah, that's your cousin." Dillon left with another promise to paint my door the next morning.
I looked at Joe and saw anger dancing in his eyes. His fists were clenched, but his cop face was on. "I'll get Terry's fingerprints down to the station first thing in the morning. I'll let you know and I probably don't have to say it, but keep this quiet. I won't be saying anything to Terry until I've got the goods on her." He stood for a moment his only motion the clenching and unclenching of his right fist. If Ranger hadn't been standing quietly close by, Joe's reaction might have been different.
I closed the door behind Joe and ran my fingers through my tangle of curls. It had been a long day and I was ready for bed. "You can go now," I told Ranger.
"I'm not leaving, Babe." He turned and walked toward me.
"Yes, you are."
"I'm not leaving you alone tonight. This stalker thing doesn't feel right to me."
My eyes turned toward the sofa and Ranger said, "I'm not leaving you alone tonight and I'm not sleeping on the sofa. I can stay here or you can come to seven. Your choice."
"I'm not spending the night with you," I said emphatically. "I paid Albert thirty-five grand to get me divorced from you this morning and I'm not spending the night with you!"
I saw Ranger's eyes widen slightly and then without warning I was exposed to the full-on two hundred watt smile. "Babe, you never disappoint."