This story contains characters that belong to Janet Evanovich.
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Scent of a Woman
Chapter 18
When Stephanie awoke the next morning, she smelled something wonderful. She was convinced it was a dream, because it smelled like bacon. Ranger was not in the bed, and if he was downstairs cooking, it was not bacon, because Ranger did not eat bacon. He did not buy bacon. He did not cook bacon. So it had to be a dream. She slowly climbed out of bed and headed toward the bathroom. Her eyes looked better, but, oh my god, her hair! Bacon or not, a shower had to come first. She adjusted the water and stepped in. Five minutes in, the bathroom door opened and within seconds Ranger was in the shower with her.
"This is a wonderful dream." Stephanie moaned as Ranger wrapped his arms around her waist and nibbled on the back of her neck.
"No dream, Babe."
"Oh yes it is." She leaned back into him and relaxed. "Because I have the most gorgeous man on the planet naked with me in the shower, and I smell bacon. I know you didn't make bacon, so this must be a dream. What were you cooking?"
"It's turkey bacon." He soaped up a body sponge and began washing Stephanie with his shower gel.
She turned to look at him. "Turkey bacon? Is it any good?"
"Have some for breakfast, and let me know. I'll probably just eat a bowl of leaves and twigs with some fruit." He grinned at her as he lifted her hand and carefully unwrapped the wet bandage. "This looks much better today. How does it feel?"
"Better, just a little tender." She looked at it closely. "Bobby was right. It didn't even blister. I don't think I'll even wrap it today." Stephanie grabbed a bottle and began to work shampoo into her hair. She looked up at Ranger. "Do you have to go back to Trenton this morning?"
"Yes, I have several meetings scheduled, and Tank wants me to meet a possible new hire."
"Can I come back with you for the day? There's not much for me to do here. I'd like to stop in at the bail bonds office and see Connie and Lula. Maybe have lunch and go shopping. I need a dress for Friday night." She turned to rinse. "Although I could just wear the black halter dress and knee high boots to dinner at the Ritz-Carlton. You remember? The outfit I bought at Cindy's shop." She smiled teasingly at him.
Ranger growled. "I remember. That dress does not get to be seen publicly again!" Dios, Babe you have no idea…how you left my men in Miami…. Take the card, and buy something nice."
"You don't think that dress is nice?"
"I like that dress just fine." He nibbled on her neck again. "You can wear it anytime." His hands found her breasts. "Anytime we're alone."
The shower took another thirty minutes.
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"Carlos, we're going to have to do something about your attention span." She giggled.
"What do you mean Babe? I'm paying a great deal of attention right now." They had left the shower and were now laying wet and naked on the bed. "For instance, I'm paying enough attention to notice that you have the most intriguing birthmark in the shape of…what is that? The state of Ohio?...Just on the inside of your left thigh." He kissed it and shifted his weight to the side and lifted her right arm. "And on the side of this incredible breast, you have a series of small freckles that,… if I play connect the dots,…" he slowly ran his finger along them, "they form the letter "C". He lifted his head and smiled at her. "It's fate. You really do belong to me."
Stephanie resisted pulling away from the tickling sensation he was creating with his light touch. "Maybe the letter "C" stands for 'Chuck' or 'Connor'."
"Do you know anyone named 'Chuck' or 'Connor'?"
"No."
"I rest my case."
Stephanie rolled her eyes. "Are you done pointing out my flaws? Or do you have more? Besides, those are not freckles, they're beauty marks!"
"I stand corrected. But I could go on for hours, because they are not flaws." He kissed her sweetly. "They're part of you, and that makes them perfect."
"You got distracted in the shower and never answered my question."
"Yes I did. I told you it was turkey bacon."
"No. I meant the other question. Can I go back to Trenton with you today?"
"Already taken care of, Babe. He kissed her again. "I called Tank this morning and cancelled your protection team for today. I thought you would want to go back to Trenton. I know you must miss Rex."
Stephanie leaned up on her elbow and kissed him back. "Thank you. How do you always know what I need?"
"Years of practice, Babe." He ran a finger across her cheek. "Right now, I know that you need to eat. Let's get dressed and reheat breakfast."
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When they reached the bail bonds office, Ranger parked the Lexus at the curb in front. A standard issue, black, RangeMan SUV was also parked there.
"Woody's here picking up today's files. I'll leave you the car and catch a ride back to Haywood with him." Ranger got out of the car and went around to Stephanie's door to open it. When she was out of the car, he grabbed her hand and led her to their alley. Sufficiently secured against the wall, he kissed her thoroughly. "I'm going to miss you today. Will you be careful? Please."
"I will, Carlos." She put her arms around his neck. "I'll miss you, too."
He took her hand, and they walked into the office. Lula was sitting on the couch reading a magazine, and Connie was leaning over the counter gazing at Woody, who was gazing right back. They both had the most adoring looks on their faces. Stephanie smiled with happiness for her friend. Ranger cleared his throat.
"Hey, boss." Woody had the look of a teenager caught making out. He straightened up and grabbed the files. "Ready when you are."
Connie shook herself out of her 'hot boyfriend' daze, looked up and realized Stephanie had come in, too. "Steph! Oh my God. I didn't expect to see you today!" She shrieked with delight as she scurried around the counter, in her impossibly high heels, and hugged her friend.
"Hey, Connie. It's just a one-day visit. I miss you guys so much."
"Babe, we're outta here." He pulled her in for a quick kiss and handed her the keys. "Stay safe."
Woody, who was nearly a foot taller than Connie, even in the heels, leaned down and kissed her on the cheek. "See ya tonight, darlin'."
The two men left the office and took off in the SUV.
"You two are disgustin'." Lula complained as she got up from the couch. "Kissin' and slobberin' all over your men like that."
"Don't mind her, Steph." Connie replied as she returned to her place behind the desk. "She's just jealous, because Tank has a thing against PDA's."
Stephanie looked a little confused. "PDA's?"
"Public displays of affection." Connie explained with a cute grin on her face. "Tank is shy."
"He's not shy! He just chooses to save up all his romantic energy for the bedroom, and the kitchen, and the livin' room." Lula yelled, defending her man. "That man is not shy! Why just last night he did somethin' with his tongue that…"
Stephanie really wanted to prevent Lula from completing that thought. She didn't want any images of Tank doing anything but RangeMan work. "That's okay, Lula, we don't need to know the details. We get it. He's not shy. He just has…respect for you in public. I think that's sweet."
"Damn straight he's sweet. My hunk of lovin' is the sweetest man on the planet." She dropped her remaining files on Connie's desk. "Girl, what are you doin' here today anyway? Ain't you still workin' that case for Ranger?"
"Yeah, we didn't have anything going on today, so I thought I would come back to town and visit my friends. Can we all have lunch later?"
"Sure." Connie answered enthusiastically. "I have to be here for another two hours until Vinnie finishes his work down at the courthouse. But after that I'm free for a long lunch. Then I have to leave work early because I have a date to get ready for."
"Since RangeMan took over most of the skip work, I'm pretty much free all day." Lula added.
"Sooo, Connie," Stephanie gave her that 'girlfriend needs information' look, "you and Woody?"
Connie's grin got big and her face went all dreamy. "Yeah. That man had me the minute he walked in the door and opened his mouth. That sexy, Texas accent, those soft, blue, bedroom eyes... and oh, that boy can kiss." She shook herself out of her thoughts and straightened up. "Yup, me and Woody."
"He's a good guy. I'm happy for you. I saw you two at Dino's the other night."
"That was our first date. Steph, you were great. Woody and I joined some of the other guys for drinks after you left. They couldn't stop talking about your show. You really knocked them for a loop."
"Yeah." Lula joined in. "Tank had to confiscate the video that Hector made. Them boys kept playin' it over and over on the monitors. He said it was distractin' them from their work."
Stephanie winced and turned toward the desk. "Just great." She made a mental note to ask Tank about the video. "Connie, while we're waiting, can I ask you to do me a favor?"
"What is it, Steph?"
"This case I'm working on involves a man named Victor Giordano. He supposedly has close ties to one of the East Coast 'families'." Stephanie put air quotes around the word families. "RangeMan did a search, of course, and came up with most of his business information. But I was hoping you could make a few calls and get me some information of a more personal nature. I'm going to meet this guy tomorrow night and there's just a nagging feeling I have about his connection to Andrew Sullivan." She shook her head. "It's probably just nerves. But I'd like to be prepared. Andrew thinks he has a strained relationship with his family."
"Steph, you do know that you should never ignore those nagging feelings you get?" Connie looked at her seriously. "Give me some time. I'll call my Aunt Vernie. She spends a lot of time on the East Coast vacationing in all the hot spots. I'm sure she's heard something." Connie picked up the phone and started on her mission.
Connie's connection to the 'family' grapevine for information was almost as good as Mary Lou's was to the 'Burg's'. If the information was out there, Connie would find it. The search engines at RangeMan had nothing on either of those women when it came to personal information. RangeMan computers may be able to tell you what grade your butcher got on his fourth grade spelling test and what was in his bank account, but the grapevine, could tell you how many mistresses he had and how his wife was planning her revenge.
"What d'ya say we go get some coffee and donuts while Connie's doin' her thing?" Lula grabbed her purse and headed to the door.
"Perfect." Stephanie said, grabbing hers as well. "I'll drive."
Ten minutes later Stephanie and Lula were drooling over the contents of the pastry case at Dunkin' Donuts. Between the two of them, they managed to pick out a dozen of the office favorites and ordered three coffees. Lula headed out the door ahead of Stephanie and came to a sudden stop halfway through.
"Don't look now, but Super Cop is waitin' out there for you." She shook her head slowly. "Mmm, Mmm, Mmm, that man has a fine ass."
Sure enough Morelli's truck was parked at the curb, and the man himself was standing against it with his arms folded across his chest; dark sunglasses hiding his eyes. Stephanie and Lula continued their path to the Lexus parked immediately behind the truck. Stephanie really wanted to ignore Joe and pretend he wasn't there, but as she got closer, she realized that it would be immature as well as nearly impossible. She decided to put on her big girl panties and walked right up to him instead.
"Joe." She nodded at him.
"Cupca…Stephanie." He answered
"You stopping here for some coffee?"
Joe's body language was stiff and irritated. "No, I saw you and Lula going into the bakery. I haven't seen you around lately. Can I speak to you…privately?"
Stephanie looked at Lula and handed her the box of donuts and the keys. "Could you wait for me in the car? I'll only be a minute."
Lula looked at her nervously. "Sure thing, girl. Just holler if you need me." She hit the button on the key fob and let herself into the car.
Joe removed his glasses and looked her straight in the eye. "I know that's not your car. Is it one of Ranger's?"
Stephanie ignored the question and asked one of her own instead. "What did you want to talk about, Joe?"
"I got a call last week from Juniak. It was a courtesy call informing me of your trouble in Philadelphia. He wasn't aware that we aren't… together anymore." Joe looked pained as he said the words.
"Okaaay." Stephanie crossed her arms and looked at him as if she were still waiting for the point.
"Okay? Okaaay?" Jesus Christ, Stephanie, what the hell were you doing in Philadelphia?"
"I. Was. Working!" Stephanie was trying to maintain her composure. She didn't want to make a scene on the street, but they were falling into the same old familiar routine; Joe yells, and Stephanie defends...loudly!
"For Manoso?"
"Not that it's any of your business, but yes. I've been working for Ranger the last couple of weeks on an assignment. Being in Philadelphia is part of my job."
"What else are you doing for Manoso? What else is part of your job?" He spat out making lude insinuations.
"Joe! This conversation isn't going there. I'm done answering your questions."
Stephanie started to walk away but Joe grabbed her arm roughly and stopped her retreat.
"Jesus, Cupcake, from what Juniak told me, you were held at gunpoint, carjacked, and very nearly gang-raped. What the fuck kind of job does he have you doing?" He shook her slightly in anger.
Stephanie sighed. "I wasn't doing my job when I was part of that mess. I was just shopping, Joe. It's a normal activity that millions of people around the world do every day. I just walked into the store at the wrong time." She raised her voice a little and got up into his face. "And the only reason I'm safe now is because Ranger had me protected. He had two of his men following me all day. They saw what was going on and saved me. So don't you dare try to blame Ranger for what happened."
They stood standing almost nose to nose. Joe still had a hard grip on her arm. A black SUV pulled up and the doors quickly opened.
"Let her go, Morelli, and step back." The voice was low and threatening. Stephanie looked over Joe's shoulder and met Lester's eyes.
Joe looked down at his own hand, shocked, as if he didn't even realize what he had been doing. He dropped her arm and stepped back. Hector immediately appeared at Stephanie's side.
"I'm sorry, Steph….I didn't mean to…It's just that I…. I worry about you." Joe stuttered. He ran his hands through his hair in frustration, and then his face suddenly went hard. "That son of a bitch ruined everything we had."
"Joe." Stephanie said softly. "Ranger was never our problem. You and I just never wanted the same things. Our relationship was a constant battle. I was afraid of commitment. You were miserable waiting for it. I loved my job, and you hated it. Hell, there were a million things wrong with us."
"Not everything was wrong, Cupcake." He looked at her with softer eyes.
"No, you're right." She met his eyes directly. "Some things were wonderful. But it wasn't enough." She leaned into Hector for support. "You have to move on, Joe."
"Is that what you've done?" He bitterly questioned.
She looked down at the sidewalk. "Yes."
"Is it Manoso, Steph? Is it one of these guys, Stephanie?" He looked at Hector who was edgily standing with one hand cradling her back and the other, protectively in front of her. "Is it this one?"
"Does it matter, Joe?"
"Christ, yes it matters. He has teardrop tattoos. Do you know what that means, Cupcake?"
Stephanie got indignant. She was angry at the blatant insult toward her friend. She spoke to him in a tight voice. "I know, Joe…that this man walked into a dangerous situation and carried me to safety. I know… that all of Ranger's men treat me with respect." Her voice rose in resentment. "I know… that these men actually consider what I have to offer, to be valuable. I know, Joe… that I'm not perfect, but I don't have to be, because these men never belittle me for my failures. And I know, Joe…that these men never, NEVER tell me to give up or quit."
Morelli shook his head sadly. "You're playing with fire, Sweetheart. I can't protect you from your mistakes anymore."
"I'm no longer your responsibility, Joe." Stephanie sighed heavily and pleaded with him in a softer tone. "Go. Have a nice life. You're a good man. Find someone that will make you happy. It isn't me."
Joe dropped his head and turned. He got back into his truck and aggressively pulled away from the curb. Stephanie let out a deep, trembling breath. Hector and Lester relaxed slightly.
After taking a few moments to regain her self-control, Stephanie looked up at the two men. "Have you guys been following me? Ranger said he cancelled my shadows for today."
Lester stepped up. "No, Beautiful. Lula got worried, so she called Tank. Hector and I were on our way to oversee the installation of some electronics for one of the RangeMan clients. We were just a couple of streets over when Tank called us to come and check up on you." He looked worried. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine." She sighed. "Thank you, Les. That was just…very… unexpected. I thought Joe and I had parted on better terms." She turned to Hector. "Thank you for coming, I'm sorry he was rude to you."
Hector took her hand. "Not to worry, Chica. I can take it." Stephanie reached over his shoulder and pulled him into a hug. Hector was a little caught off guard (which is saying a lot for a RangeMan), but he quickly recovered, wrapped his arms around her and whispered into her ear. "You know, mi joya preciosa, Lester is right. You are...hermosa. Su corazon…your heart…is very beautiful."
Stephanie released him and stepped back smiling warmly. "Thank you, Hector. That means a lot to me."
"Listen, Beautiful," Lester gently touched her cheek, "if you're sure you're okay, we're going to take off."
"I'm really fine." Stephanie smiled, trying to convince herself. "Go back to work. Lula and I are headed back to the bonds office and then we have plans for lunch and shopping. I'll be at RangeMan later."
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When Stephanie and Lula walked back into the office, Connie was just getting off the phone.
"Where the hell did you two go for donuts? Canada? You've been gone for almost an hour."
"Our girl here ran into an old problem." Lula explained as she set the donuts on the counter and opened them up. Immediately, all three women reached in to grab one. There was brief silence and a collective moan as they ingested their sugary confections.
"Oh God, this is so good." Stephanie sighed with pleasure. "Sorry about the coffee, Connie. I'm sure it's cold. Should we try to nuke it?"
"Don't bother. We're going to lunch in another hour anyway. What happened at the donut shop?"
"It's a long story. We'll save it for lunch."
Connie set her half eaten donut down and wiped her fingers on a napkin. She gingerly picked up a notepad. "I have some information for you about Giordano." She got a worried look on her face. "You aren't going to be alone with this guy, are you?"
"It's not part of the plan. I'm going to dinner with Andrew, and Victor will be joining us. We'll be in a restaurant. Why? What did you find out?"
"Well, the word is that, Victor has not been very 'stable' lately. Evidently his family has been cleaning up his messes for years. He was always quite the playboy. He went through women like we walk through air. Occasionally that, and his notoriously short temper, got him into some trouble." She took another bite of donut and continued. "His mother is the niece of Dominic Bilotti. Bilotti is a big name in the New York 'family'. Not a nice guy. People who upset Dominic, generally don't have to worry about planning out their retirement." She gave Stephanie a knowing look. "Anyway, Victor's mom has been telling her friends that she's very upset and concerned. Victor has changed in the last several months. He's become moody, withdrawn, and unpredictable. She's been worried about his abuse of prescription drugs. When she tried to talk with him about her suspicions, he flew into a rage and smashed half of her prized porcelain figurine collection against a wall." Connie set her note pad down. "I assume you know about his arrest. Looks like this guy's into more than prescription drugs."
"Yeah, that's why RangeMan has the case. He's FTA."
"Why does RangeMan have the case? Vinnie didn't post bond, Les Sebring did."
"Sebring hired RangeMan to protect his investment. The bond was posted for two million dollars."
Connie made a long, low whistling sound. "That's a lot of investment."
"Thanks for the information, Connie. I wish I could say I feel better knowing what you just told me. But I guess it's better to be armed with that information before tomorrow night."
"You be careful with that man, Sweetie. We want you back here in one piece." She smiled. "This office just isn't the same with you gone."
The back door to the bonds office opened, and Vinnie walked in. He did a double take when he saw Stephanie.
"Well, well, well. Look what the cat dragged in." He said gruffly. "Are you here to work?"
Stephanie shook her head. Connie jumped in.
"No, she's not. She's here to go to lunch with us." Connie grabbed her bag and pulled on Stephanie's arm. "I'll be back in an hour and a half." She looked back over her shoulder. "And don't forget, Vinnie, I have to leave early today."
"Geez, what am I paying you for?"
Lula looked at him as she picked up her purse to follow. "You're payin' her to keep your sorry ass in business." She walked out.
The girls had lunch at a new restaurant downtown. They ordered drinks and filled Connie in on the morning's events with Joe. After lunch, Connie headed back to the office and Lula and Steph started out to search for a dress. Trenton was not really known for its abundant access to higher end designer clothing, but they narrowed their search to some pricy dress shops in the more upscale part of town. In the third shop, Lula pulled out a beautiful bronze, stretch taffeta, slim knee-length cocktail dress with wide tapered shoulder straps that trailed into an open back bodice. It had a sweetheart neckline and a ruched, crisscross bodice in the front. It came with a matching wrap. When Stephanie tried it on, they both agreed it was sexy as hell. Perfect. Relieved that she had a dress in hand and shoes, already back in Philadelphia, to match. Stephanie dropped Lula at the bonds office and headed over to RangeMan.
Stephanie parked in the garage and took the elevator to the fifth floor. She stopped by the control room.
"Hey, guys." She called as she entered the room.
"Hey, Bombshell, long time no see." Binkie greeted from the monitors. "We miss you around here."
"Hopefully I'll be back soon. Is Ranger here?"
"No, he's still on site at one of our business clients."
"Thanks, Binkie. I'll just wait for him on seven."
Stephanie stepped back into the elevator and rode it to the top floor. She opened the apartment, dropped her purse on the hall tabl,e and headed to the kitchen.
"Rex, I'm back." She said while tapping on the side of the cage. When he didn't come out, she went to the refrigerator and found a bag of baby carrots. She dropped one into the cage, and Rex scurried out of his soup can to pick it up. "Hey little buddy, sorry I haven't been around." Rex looked up and gave her a wink. "Have you been spending time with Lester again?" She giggled at him. "Oh Rex, this has been the most crazy couple of weeks. So much has happened; it has my head spinning faster than your wheel." She sighed. "You will never believe what Joe did today."
"I heard."
Stephanie jumped about six inches into the air and grabbed her heart. "Geez, you scared the crap out of me."
Ranger pulled her into a warm embrace. "I'm sorry, Babe. You should be more aware of your surroundings." He chuckled.
Stephanie hugged him tightly. "Not here. This is my safe place. This is the one place where I always feel secure."
"My apartment or my arms?"
"Both." She looked up at him. "I mean…they're the same thing. When I walk into this apartment it's the same feeling I get when you hold me. It's instant relief from all my worries and fears. The first time I came here, hiding from the slayers, the moment I opened the door, I felt it. I smelled it."
"What did you smell?"
"You. This apartment smells like you." She stood up on her toes and pulled him in for a kiss. "I missed you today. How did your meetings go?"
He stepped back from her, took her hand and led her over to the couch. He sat and pulled her into his lap. "Nice try, Babe, but I want to hear more about your run-in with Morelli today."
"Oh, that." She responded weakly. "Wouldn't you rather hear about the dress I found for tomorrow night?"
"Dress later, Morelli now."
"What do you already know about it?"
"Santos called me." Stephanie nodded, not surprised. "He said that when he and Hector arrived, Morelli had you by the arm,…" restrained anger was beginning to show on his face. "tightly."
"Did Lester tell you what he said?"
"I read the report."
"There's a report?" She asked incredulously, raising her voice. "A written report of my run in with Morelli?"
"Yes." Ranger had the good sense to look a little guilty. "There was an official RangeMan response to a security situation. So there has to be a report filed. It's standard procedure."
Ranger looked at her sternly. "Stephanie, I want to know what happened before my men got there. What did he say to you? Did he threaten you? Did he touch you?"
"What?…No! He was upset. Juniak called him last week after my…the whole robbery thing. It was some kind of cop, brotherhood, courtesy call, because he thought Joe and I were still together. Joe just…well,...he had questions…that's all."
"And?"
"And… I didn't like some of his questions… and he didn't like some of my answers." She shrugged. "Before I knew it we were back to the same old angry routine. I didn't want to get dragged into it, so I tried to walk away. He grabbed me by the arm to stop me. Really, Carlos, I don't think he meant to hurt me. He didn't even seem to realize he was holding on to me so tightly, until Lester told him to let go." She looked down at her hands. "Joe did apologize."
"Had he been drinking?" Ranger asked in a low emotionless voice.
Stephanie snapped her head up. "No! Why would you ask that?"
"There's a family history."
"You know Joe's not like that. He's a good man. Joe has never behaved like that around me." She sighed. "He's just having trouble dealing with our break up."
Ranger pulled her into a hug and kissed her on the head. Stephanie could feel his body relax slightly. "Babe, I read the report. He accused you of sleeping with Hector?" Ranger chuckled.
"Among others. But, if that's what he thinks… I didn't do much to dispel the idea. After some of the things he insinuated, at the very least, he deserved to walk away today with that idea swimming around in his head." She gave Ranger a devious grin.
"Babe, you said some pretty impressive things about my men." He lifted her chin to look directly into her eyes. "Lester was damn proud of you…and so am I." He gave her a tender kiss. "How about we have some dinner, and you can tell me all about the dress."
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