This story contains characters that belong to Janet Evanovich.

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Scent of a Woman

Chapter 17

The flight back to Philadelphia was the exact opposite of the flight into Miami. Stephanie and Ranger no longer had the plane, or its glorious bedroom, to themselves since Bobby, Hector and Cal were aboard. Tank had faxed Ranger enough paperwork to kill an entire forest. After take-off, he quickly settled into a chair and got down to business. Never one to sit still longer than a few minutes, except to sleep, Stephanie quickly became bored.

Hector noticed her restlessness. "Chica, how about a game of poker?"

"You have cards?"

"Yeah, they're here somewhere." He went into the small kitchenette and opened a cabinet. He returned with a box that contained cards and poker chips."

"Looks like we got ourselves a game." Cal clapped his hands together in anticipation. He cleared the dining table and offered Stephanie a seat.

Bobby joined in, took the cards and began to shuffle as Hector passed out the chips.

"It's been a while since I've played poker. You may have to refresh my memory." Stephanie admitted.

"No problem, Bombshell," Bobby chuckled, "it's like riding a bike."

The game began and before they knew it, the pilot was announcing their descent into Philadelphia, Stephanie was ten thousand dollars richer, and the Merry Men were left shaking their heads.

"Gentlemen," Bobby lamented good-naturedly as he stood and stretched. "I think we've been had by the pretty lady!"

The other two men grunted in agreement. Hurricane Stephanie had just whipped their butts.

When they stepped off the plane Lester and Tank were waiting next to two RangeMan SUV's. Lester greeted Stephanie with a kiss on the cheek.

"Good to see you back, Beautiful." Lester teased. "Things were getting quite dull around here. Heard you shook things up in Miami, though."

"Hey, that's not fair, Les. Not one single car was destroyed in Miami, and I didn't shoot anyone! On the Stephanie Richter scale, I'd say the trip was less than a 4.0!"

Ranger put an arm around her waist and leaned closely into her ear and whispered. "Not in the bedroom, Babe."

Stephanie blushed and tried to recover. "What's the plan? I'm starving."

Ranger answered. "Hector and Cal are headed back to Trenton. Bobby, Lester and Tank are staying here in Philly for your meeting tonight with Sullivan."

"Lunch is in the car." Lester looked over at the SUV he had driven. "Ella packed that thing with fresh supplies for the house."

"We'll head back to the house, have lunch, and get organized for this evening." Ranger ordered.

Luggage was loaded into the cars, and Cal and Hector took off. Ranger and Stephanie drove the Lexus and headed back to the house, with Tank, Bobby and Lester following behind in the Escalade. Stephanie spent the car ride trying to get back into focus on her Maria Granger role. The last few days had been an incredibly wonderful diversion, but now it was time to return to the job at hand.

When they reached the house, they unpacked the car, put away all the new supplies and sat down to the scrumptious lunch Ella had sent.

"Babe, tonight Bobby will be close by. He'll be in the audience at the concert. Tank has arranged for him and his date to be seated in the reserved section as well."

Stephanie looked up at Bobby in surprise. "Your date?"

"Yeah, Bombshell. I have a good friend who lives here in Philadelphia. She's coming along as part of my cover. Not many guys would attend a concert like this alone."

Lester snorted. "Not any guy would go to a symphony concert alone!"

Stephanie was curious. "So who is this 'friend'?"

"Just someone I've known for a while. We went to college together."

"What's her name?"

Bobby huffed at the inquisition. "Her name is Adria, okay? She's a writer."

"Is she pretty?"

Bobby rolled his eyes. "I guess so…yes she's pretty."

"Did you two date?" Stephanie was enjoying the teasing. She had a big smile on her face. Lester had a big grin on his face as well. Tank was chuckling. Ranger was shaking his head.

"We dated in college." Bobby was exasperated. "Geez, Bombshell, what is it with the interrogation? Don't you have a date to get ready for?"

"Just curious." She quipped and took another bite of her lunch. "What will the rest of you be doing tonight?"

"Lester and Tank are monitoring and recording communications. I'll…be around." Ranger uttered cryptically.

"Hmmm…Is there anything specific you want me to try to achieve this evening? Do you need more information about the dinner on Friday?"

"We know the dinner is at the Ritz-Carlton. The problem is that Giordano is also staying at the Ritz-Carlton. That means, more than likely, he won't be leaving the building. We were hoping to apprehend him in a less public setting. If we can't get to him, we may need to follow him back to New York and try for a different angle. Just see if you can get Sullivan to give you any more personal information about Giordano."

"Will do." Finished with her lunch, Steph scooted back from the table and carried her dishes to the kitchen. "I'm going to take a shower. Bobby will you re-bandage my hand when I'm done?"

"Sure thing, Bombshell."

By five o'clock all of the guys had left the house to get ready for the evening job. Ranger stayed behind. He was scheduled to leave after Sullivan picked up Stephanie. It was supposed to be a bit cooler this evening and with the concert being outdoors, Stephanie chose a pair of lightweight tan wool slacks and a matching satin camisole covered with a hunter green, wrap around cashmere belted draped cardigan. She added tan pumps, the signature perfume, light make-up and some earrings. She also returned to wearing the locket she had intentionally left behind when they traveled to Miami.

"Welcome back, Maria Granger." Stephanie sighed as she checked her look in the mirror one final time.

Ranger walked up behind her and put his arms around her waist. "It won't be much longer Babe. Hopefully we'll finish up this assignment by the weekend."

"I hope so. I'm going to have an identity crisis if I have to do this much longer. I'm running out of ideas for conversation about my imaginary son. Between my nieces and Mary Lou's boys, I only have so much experience to draw from."

Ranger pulled her into his arms. "You're doing great, Babe." He lifted her right hand gently. "How does your hand feel?"

"It still burns a little and it's stiff. The salve that Bobby put on helps, though."

He placed a soft kiss on the bandage. "Are you ready for tonight?"

"I still need my wire."

"Got it right here." Ranger playfully secured the wire under the satin tank top. When it was in place, he kissed her thoroughly and then switched it on. Five minutes later the doorbell rang.

"Hi, Andrew!" Stephanie welcomed him enthusiastically as she opened the door.

He gave her a kiss on the cheek. "Have you had a good week so far?"

"Yes, I have actually."

"What did you do for your birthday?"

"My birth….how did you know?" Stephanie was a little freaked out by this. Was he checking up on her? Did he suspect something?

"I'm sorry, Maria. I wasn't being nosy. It's just that when I was going over your financial statements the other day, your birth date was listed in the paperwork. I only noticed it because it was so close to the current date. I'm sorry if I've acted inappropriately, but I brought you something." He held up a small jewelry box. "Happy Birthday."

"Oh no, Andrew, I'm not upset. It just caught me off guard. I can't believe you knew it was my birthday." She reached up to take the box from him. "This is very sweet."

"Maria, what happened?" He took her hand in his, studying the bandage.

"I'm such a klutz. I burned it on a pan in the kitchen last night. It's not as bad as it looks; the bandage just helps keep the burn cream on."

"Are you sure? Did you have a doctor look at it?" His voice was full of concern.

"No, really Andrew it's fine. Just a minor burn that's all." She was trying to sound reassuring.

"Promise you'll let me know if it hurts too much."

"I promise." She said with a smile. "Can I open the box now?"

"Yes!"

Stephanie lifted the black velvet lid. Inside was a beautiful silver cable bracelet with three diamond studs set in. "Andrew, it's lovely." She lifted the bracelet from its cushion and attempted to open the clasp to put it on. She fumbled, and his hands appeared immediately.

"Here, let me help." He deftly opened and secured the clasp. When he finished he held onto her hand and wrist with both of his hands. "I knew this would look lovely on you."

Stephanie looked up into his eyes. "Thank you." She almost whispered. "It's beautiful."

"No, this is just jewelry. It's only beautiful, because you're wearing it." He slowly slid one of his hands up her arm and around her neck and pulled her face towards his. He brushed his lips gently over hers, almost asking permission for the kiss. Stephanie leaned slightly towards him and he took that as acceptance. He increased the pressure and the intensity of the kiss by taking her fully into his arms. After several seconds he broke away. "I've been thinking about that kiss for three days."

"How was it?" Stephanie smiled.

"Better than my imagination." He smiled back.

"I'm glad I didn't disappoint you." She stepped back away from the embrace. "Should we be going?"

"Yes. Are you ready? Where's your son?"

"Carlos is with Lester. They're having dinner at Chuckie Cheese, and then they're going back to his house to spend the night. They left here all excited; something about a 'Sponge Bob' video marathon."

Andrew chuckled. "Wow, pizza with a mouse and Sponge Bob! I think I'm definitely getting the better deal tonight."

During the drive downtown, Stephanie worried and schemed. The kiss at the house was extremely passionate. That and the expensive gift, convinced her that Andrew was letting her know, in no uncertain terms, where he wanted to go with this relationship. She was going to have to maintain an awkward balance tonight between keeping Andrew interested and keeping him at bay. The kicker was that she would have a full complement of Merry Men listening to, and sometimes watching, her every response, both physical and verbal. She had talked to Carlos about this very concern, and he had assured her that he could deal with it. She couldn't help but think about the way she would feel if their situation was reversed. There was no way she could watch or listen to him kissing another woman and not go crazy. It wouldn't matter if it were an assignment. Her green-eyed monster would rear its ugly head. But Ranger had a lot of experience watching and listening to her play with skips during distractions. He only ever lost control if things got out of hand and she was hurt. Still…this felt more like she was living a double life.

"Have you been to the symphony before, Maria?"

Andrews's voice pulled her from her thoughts. "Uh, No. Not since I was a kid, and we went on a school field trip." She laughed. "My friends and I thought it was boring as hell."

"We don't have to go if you don't think you'll like it. We could do something else."

"No!" She almost yelled. Stephanie did not want any schedule changes. "I have a much broader appreciation of music now than I did when I was 13. I'm excited to do this. I'm really looking forward to it." She took his hand lacing her fingers with his. "I'm glad you asked me out again."

The reserved seating section of the concert included cushioned outdoor loveseats and access to a hospitality tent that offered champagne and hors d'oeuvres. Stephanie looked around periodically but couldn't locate Bobby and his date. Just before the concert started, she and Andrew were exiting the tent with a plate of goodies and drinks. Stephanie heard an unmistakable laugh and turned toward it to see Bobby smiling and laughing intimately with a beautiful woman. Stephanie watched as they found their seats. She felt better knowing where to find him if necessary. She studied them for a moment. Not that any of the Merry Men could be considered anything less than handsome, but Bobby was certainly one that drew the attention of every woman in the vicinity. His skin was a flawless creamy milk chocolate. His intense brown eyes, long lashes, and sexy mouth mirrored the warmth and compassion Stephanie equated with what she knew of his personality and bedside manner. His body was sinful perfection. Adria, his date, had glossy, long, brown, curly hair, similar to Stephanie's, but it was a couple of shades darker than hers. Stephanie couldn't see the color of her eyes from where she stood, but she could see that they were vibrant and friendly and regarded Bobby with affection. She was tall, slender, and graceful in her movements. Her skin was fair, but strikingly tanned. Her body appeared to have an almost magnetic pull toward Bobby's that made Stephanie silently sigh in awe as she took in the vision of this attractive couple. Bobby caught Stephanie staring and gave her an almost imperceptible nod.

During the concert, Andrew sat with his arm around Stephanie's shoulder. He would occasionally take her hand and carefully caress her fingers, always being careful of her injury. When the concert ended, they remained seated while others exited.

"That was wonderful." Stephanie confessed. "I was amazed at the number of pieces I recognized. I don't think I ever realized before how much classical music has filtered into the mainstream of our culture."

"You'll find classical music in commercials, movies; rock stars even pay homage to the classics in some of their most popular hits." Andrew commented. "How are you feeling? Would you still like to go to dinner?"

"I'm really fine, Andrew, stop worrying." She assured him. "And yes, as nice as this was, we haven't had much of a chance to talk. Maybe we could find someplace quiet with good food."

"I think I know just the place." He helped her gather her things and placed his hand at her lower back to guide her through the crowd. "There's a little restaurant not far from here called Alexander's. They have a great dessert menu, too."

When they reached the car, Andrew led Stephanie to the passenger side. Before he opened the door, he turned her toward him, lifted her chin, and kissed her. As the kiss deepened, he leaned her up against the door and took her face in both her hands. When he released her lips, his mouth traveled down the side of her neck placing passionate open mouth kisses along the way. His hands wandered down her arms to her hips. He pulled her tight against his groin, and he returned to kiss her lips again.

Stephanie was briefly stunned but regained her composure enough to gently push him back. She looked up at him. "You think you can deter me from dinner that easily?" She said playfully. "Not a chance mister. Get in the car. I want to see that great dessert menu."

Andrew stepped back putting his hands up in surrender. "Hey you can't blame a guy for trying." He opened her door, and she stepped into the car.

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They found a nicely secluded table at the restaurant. The waitress brought them drinks and took their order.

"Andrew, why don't you tell me about Marissa."

Andrew shot up a look of surprise. "What do you mean? What do you want to know?"

"It's only that I've shared so much with you about Ric and Carlos. I'd like to know more about what Marissa was like. What attracted you to her? Did she have a job? I don't know. You can tell me anything you choose."

"Marissa had the soul of an angel. She loved people and never had a bad thought about anyone. She adored Madison and was a wonderful mother." The last statement was delivered somewhat defensively.

"I'm sure she was." Stephanie reassured him. "I can see that she meant a great deal to you." She waited a few moments and took a drink. "Andrew, how did the accident happen?" She put her hand on his. "If it's too painful, I'll understand. We don't have to talk about it."

Andrew thought for a long time. When he decided to speak, he looked up at Stephanie with a great deal of sadness in his eyes. "Marissa was leaving me that night." He stopped. Stephanie tightened her hold on his hand. "When I look back on it now, I can see that we were drifting apart. It wasn't obvious. There were no arguments. I think she just started to withdraw from me at some point. Maybe I was too involved in my work to notice. I don't know." He sounded frustrated. "But that night she came to me and announced that she was taking Madison and moving out. I was shocked. I couldn't think. I begged her to explain. She said she loved me, but there was someone else that she needed to be with. Someone who could give her what I hadn't." He took a drink. "I was furious, confused. I said things I didn't mean. When there was nothing left to say, Marissa went upstairs, got Madison out of bed and put her in the car. I asked her to stay, to try to work things out. But she just cried and said that it was too late." Andrew looked down at the table. "That was the last time I saw them…..pulling out of the garage into the rain. About an hour later, the police showed up at the door and told me about the accident. Marissa ran a red light and was….they were both killed instantly."

Stephanie was holding back tears. "I'm so sorry, Andrew."

"I never knew." He whispered.

"Never knew?"

He spoke a little louder. "I never knew she was unhappy. I never knew where she was headed…who she was leaving me for. I spent days going through her things, looking for some clue…a name…an address. I needed someone to blame. Someone to pay. This unknown man that destroyed my family…I never found out who it was."

"Is that important?"

"I don't know. It was important then. Now? Maybe." He shook off his thoughts. "Well, that's something I've never told anyone before. Not even Victor."

"Thank you for sharing it with me. Are you all right? Would you like to leave?"

"I'm okay. I want to be here with you." He put his hand on her cheek. "You are so beautiful, Maria. I feel good again around you." He smiled with a warmth that melted Stephanie's heart.

The waitress returned and put their food on the table. Their conversation turned to lighter matters. After dessert, Andrew paid the bill, and they left.

As they rode in the car, Stephanie thought it would be a good time to try to get a little more information about Victor Giordano.

"I'm looking forward to having dinner with you and your friend Victor on Friday. Did you tell him that you invited me?"

"Yes, Victor said he would make the dinner extra special because you were coming. He's looking forward to meeting you as well."

"Do you think he'll bring a date, too?"

"Victor? I don't think so. He didn't say he would. He's been different lately. More subdued you might say. The last time we got together, he was distracted. I think he may be having some issues with his family." Andrew almost chuckled. "You know, I've known Victor for nearly 15 years, and I don't know that much about his family. He was always evasive when it came to talking about them."

"Have you ever met them?"

"I met his sister once. She was a little pushy. She came to visit Victor at college for a weekend. I think she's married now. Like I said, Victor doesn't talk about them much."

Andrew pulled the car into the driveway. He shut off the engine but didn't get out of the car right away. He turned to Stephanie and put his hand on her face and leaned in to kiss her. He was tender and passionate once again. He unbuckled her seat belt, moved his hands to her waist and pulled her into his lap never breaking from the kiss. He tightened his embrace and his hands roamed to the front of her sweater. He loosened the tie and moved his hands over the satin camisole. "Maria," he whispered against her lips. "Let me stay tonight."

Stephanie was breathless by this point. Her mind was racing. Her heart pounding with the confusion she was experiencing. "Andrew, it's…it's not a good time for me."

Andrew stopped kissing her and sat back. "I'm sorry, am I being too pushy...is it too soon?"

"No." Stephanie assured him. "I don't mean it that way. What I mean is… it's not a good time of the month for me." She blushed.

"Oh." Andrew raised his eyebrows. "I understand."

"Can I have a rain check on that idea, though?" She shyly responded.

"You just say the word, Sweetheart." He grinned and kissed her again before returning her to her seat and exiting the car.

Once safely locked in the house, the tears began. They came uncontrollably and without warning. In an instant Ranger had her in his arms and carried her up the stairs.

"I'm sorry, I don't understand. I don't even know why I'm crying." She sobbed through her tears.

"Sh, sh, sh querida." Ranger took her sweater off and carefully removed the wire. It was obvious to the men listening that he had Stephanie in his care and they could go home for the night. He didn't bother with the phone call.

Stephanie must have fallen asleep at some point, because when she opened her eyes the room was dark, and she was tucked comfortably under the covers. She could feel Ranger's arm across her stomach and hear his steady breathing. She knew it was probably futile, but she tried to quietly disengage herself from his hold. He immediately came awake and tightened his grip around her waist.

She reached her hand to his face to soothe his alarmed response. "I'll be right back."

He released his grip, and she scooted out of the bed and went to the bathroom. She was only wearing the satin camisole and her panties. As the memory of her crying jag resurfaced, Stephanie thought about not turning on the light. She really wanted to avoid looking in the mirror. She was pretty sure her eyes would be puffy and red; her makeup smeared and running down her face. But the room was too dark to navigate safely, and she relented.

"Ughch!" She quickly grabbed a washcloth, moistened it with cool water and tried to fix or at least minimize the damage. She took care of business, drank a large glass of water and returned to the bedroom.

Ranger was awake and waiting. She climbed back into bed and he wrapped her in his arms, once again.

"You better be glad it's dark in here, Carlos, I'm not a pretty sight." She sighed.

"You're beautiful."

"Yeah? Well that's the magical deception of a room only lit by moonlight. In the bathroom, I look like Shrek! Minus the horns, of course."

Ranger chuckled and they were silent for a moment.

"Babe, are you okay?"

"I don't know. I'm guessing you heard my conversation and everything…..with Andrew tonight."

Ranger nodded.

"How… did it make you feel?" She asked hesitantly.

"It was….difficult to listen to."

"Why?"

"Because you were in a very uncomfortable position, and I put you there. And as much as I wanted to step in and stop the whole damn thing…. As badly as I wanted to take you away from his touch and bring you back here where it would just be you and me…I couldn't. I had to trust you to do your job, and you did." He ran his hand over her cheek. "Babe, I was so proud of you tonight."

"I don't feel pride, Carlos. I feel…I feel…like a predator. I feel like a user. I'm not deceiving the bad guy here. I'm deceiving a man who did nothing more than love his wife and child. A wife who was planning on leaving him. I'm playing with his feelings. She played with his feelings. I'm taking advantage of his pain. He's an innocent bystander in this scenario, and he will be hurt, again, by my tactics." She was on the verge of tears.

"Babe, there is no good way to do this. Giordano needs to be captured. We have found his weak link. In the end…yes, Sullivan is going to be the collateral damage, but we will have Giordano back in jail."

"It hurts."

"I know." He soothed her with his hands. "You feel things so deeply. You care about people. You are a good person who has to do a shitty job right now."

"I wish I were stronger, like you. I hate that I fall apart like this."

Ranger sat up and leaned his back against the headboard. He ran his hand through his hair as if frustrated. "You are so much stronger than me, Babe. You think it's weak to show emotion. It's not. I've been trained to hide it. It's easier not to face the emotions behind my decisions. To lock them out and look only at finishing the job. It takes a strong person to recognize and deal with the feelings you're expressing and still do the job. I envy that about you. It's honest." He relaxed a little bit. "I spent a lot of time hiding and ignoring my feelings and emotions for you. I wasn't strong. I was a coward."

Stephanie sat up and climbed into Ranger's lap. She put her arms around his neck and brought her lips close to his. "You didn't hide all your feelings, Carlos." She kissed him. "I seem to recall a certain amount of poaching." She kissed him again.

"You didn't object." He kissed her back.

"No, I didn't." She nibbled her way down his neck.

Stephanie could feel his excitement building. He was wearing only his black silk boxers. Her hands slid down his powerful chest and slipped under the elastic band to push them down. He lifted his hips off the bed to assist her. When he was free, she rose on her knees and, not willing to break the intimate contact of their face to face arrangement; she tugged the crotch of her panties to the side and came down on him in one effortless movement. She gasped at the sensation that shot through her body. Ranger put his hands on her waist and began a rhythm that mimicked the dance their tongues were performing.

"I love you, Carlos." She whispered into his lips.

"Dios, Babe, a veces no pueden acercarse lo suficiente para usted. Te amo." ("God, Babe, sometimes I can't get close enough to you. I love you.")

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