Chapter Ten

Lunch was quiet. The delicatessen not overly crowded. Steph had a healthy appetite, like always. Packing away more food than most girls would have in front of a man they were sleeping with. But then, Steph was never the type to worry too much. She did what she wanted. Did what felt good. He envied her sometimes the way she let go. Unbridled. Free. He'd had to learn the hard way to maintain constant control. Things went south real quick when he didn't.

After lunch, they took a slow walk along the beach, listening to the waves and feeling the ocean breeze. She relaxed even more. Lulled into calm by the Zen influence of the island. He slipped his hand around hers and felt her pulse. Slow and even.

She pointed out a little pink ice cream shop on the way back to the car. Lit up a little. It was cute.

"Are you saying you want ice cream?" he asked her.

She looked at him with a little smile. "I don't not want ice cream."

Of course. When had Steph ever not wanted ice cream? He let the corner of his mouth lift.

A bell rang over the shop door to announce their entrance. Ranger hung back while she looked over the flavors. There were a few messages on his phone. A text from Noah about the driver of the Taurus that had almost taken out Stephanie. Another from Rico telling him the issues with the car were resolved and he was relieving Noah at the hospital. And an email from Silvio.

That one was more helpful. Detailed the itinerary of Martin Terron, including counseling classes, prepaid excursions, and restaurant reservations. They'd have no problem getting eyes on the guy. Not that he felt it was really necessary. That was more for Stephanie. He'd been sure of Ruguzzi ever since he saw the silencer.

Steph took the cone offered by the little old woman behind the counter and wandered over to him, running her tongue along the side in a way that made him wonder if she knew how sexy it was. He slid the phone back into his pocket. "Got a hit. Terron made reservations for the resort's beach front restaurant tonight at six. I booked us a table."

She looked down at her watch. "That's cutting it a little close. I still have to get ready."

"You'll have to get ready before we head back. We're going straight to the restaurant."

"But I need to take a shower. I've been swimming in the ocean. My hair's all salty and gross."

"Babe, if we go back to the cottage so you can take a shower, I have no intention of letting you get dressed again."

It had mostly been a feeler. Meant to take the temperature of her reaction. There was a little temptation there, but mostly he'd seen reserve. She wasn't ready yet. She ate her ice cream and headed into the bathroom to clean up.

The old woman behind the counter smiled at him. Genuine and friendly. Most people used to avoid looking at him. They'd glance his way and skirt their eyes around the space he occupied like they thought it would avoid them trouble. Something about being seen with Steph had made him more accessible. Less intimidating.

Maybe he was getting soft.

His phone buzzed in his pocket. Rico. He answered it.

"Hey boss. Just thought you'd like to know they released Derek MacDonald from the hospital. Minor bruising, a few scrapes, but nothing serious. He was high as a kite, though. The police took him into custody a few minutes ago. You want me to have them press charges?"

"Yes." He wanted them to do more than that, but he didn't think it would help his karma much to wish ill on the guy just because his brainless stupidity almost caused grave bodily harm to someone he cared about. If Steph had actually been hurt, it might have been a different story. "See it through. It wouldn't be good for this guy to be on the street." Ranger wasn't sure if he'd be able to hold back twice.

"You got it. How's your girl doin'?"

"She's fine."

"That's what I heard," Rico said with obvious grin.

The bathroom door opened again and Steph stepped out. The unruly frizz that had been taking over her curls had tamed somewhat, her eyes more defined. He took another look at the dress. Rico was right. She was fine.

"From what I hear, she's got a lot of fire too. Stood up to Noah even when he was doing his badass bodyguard routine. No fear. You got an interesting girl there. As long as you can keep her away from runaway dumpsters."

Ranger smiled at that and disconnected. He slipped an arm around her waist. "Ready to go?"

"Sure. What was that about?"

"Rico was just giving me an update on the driver of the Taurus. They've cleared him for injuries at the hospital. He's being booked for driving under the influence and reckless endangerment."

"Is that what the smile was about?"

"No. The smile was because Rico made a crack about the dumpster."

"It wasn't my fault."

"It never is."

"Noah thinks we're engaged, by the way."

"I got that impression."

"And?"

"He wished me luck and said 'I hope you know what you're getting into.'"

"Everyone's a comedian."

o o o

The resort's beach front restaurant was a nightmare from a security standpoint. Three out of four walls were nothing more than canvass curtains. Easy to come and go. No real way to control the flow of traffic. It was highly rated, though. People liked the atmosphere of being right on the beach. Liked that the floor was made of sand and that they could hear the ocean.

Ranger spoke to the hostess and requested a table on the single wall that separated the restaurant from the kitchen. It wasn't hard to arrange. Most patrons wanted the outskirts, where they could smell the breeze and watch the tide coming in. After a quick conversation, she brought them to a table right next to the kitchen door.

Steph wasn't paying attention when the waitress came to take their order. She was too busy watching the entrances. Waiting for Ruguzzi. Ranger knew what she was likely to order anyway. He watched the waitress head into the kitchen and then reached for Steph's hand.

"He's not going to show any faster just because you stare."

"I don't want to miss him."

"We won't. Trust me. Even if he doesn't wear that god-awful shirt."

"I thought it was kind of classy."

"Babe."

She gave him an innocent expression. He shook his head at her, fighting a smile.

She went back to watching the room, so focused that she hadn't noticed his attention stayed on her. He watched the fractional movements in her expression while she swayed from frustrated to hopeful every time someone new arrived. She wanted to catch Ruguzzi bad. He wondered if it had anything to do with getting rid of him. It was certainly possible. Not because she didn't enjoy his company, but because she wasn't comfortable straying so far from her moral center. Even less comfortable with liking it. Mostly, though, he thought it was just her natural instincts. Steph had a compulsive need to uncover the truth, and she didn't really have an off switch.

He admired that, despite the trouble it caused him. It made it harder to protect her. But it was also one of the things that set her apart. Made her worth the trouble.

The food came out of the kitchen and Steph's eyes warmed when she saw that he'd ordered her a little brick oven pizza. Steph loved pizza. This one was probably a little healthier than what she usually got back in Trenton, but she seemed happy all the same.

It didn't take her long to finish it. She looked down at her watch. "It's almost seven. Think they're a no show?"

"It's possible." Not that he'd been paying any attention to the room beyond security.

Steph blew out a sigh of frustration. Probably started thinking about dessert. And then she went still. She'd seen something. Ranger followed her eyes and saw a man standing with his back to them while he seated a white fedora onto his dark hair. No orange or lime green, but the cream colored shirt he was wearing hung on the same frame from the beach. She'd spotted her man.

She pushed back from the table. "I'll be right back."

He wondered if he should caution her. She wasn't likely to attempt a takedown in the crowded restaurant. Not wearing that dress. Probably just wanted to skirt by his table to get a look at his face. Not a huge risk unless The Rug caught her staring, and Steph was good enough at her job not to make a rookie move like that.

She stepped into the line of traffic in front of the kitchen door. And then, against all odds, she ended up sandwiched between another diner and the kitchen door right when a waiter came through it carrying a full tray. The waiter crashed into Steph, shoving her into the man in front of her, and they all went down in a pile, the entire tray dumping over her and only her. It was such a bizarre spectacle that Ranger burst out laughing. He reached into the pile and found her hand, pulling her onto her feet. There was spaghetti in her hair. Flowing down her shoulders. Her back was soaked with hot soup and there was an entire piece of chocolate cake pressed into her cleavage. He grinned. "Babe. You're an accident waiting to happen today."

Stephanie was stunned. Staring around the room in a daze. This kind of thing happened to her all the time. It boggled his mind how often. He'd seen her roll in garbage, get covered in sauerkraut and pickle juice, get shot with neon paint. He'd even been standing next to her and miraculously came out unscathed because she'd attracted it all like magic.

Her bottom lip folded in and he realized she was close to tears.

He didn't have a lot of tender feelings, but the ones he did have always surfaced when Steph started to cry. He picked up the cloth napkin from the table and cleaned off the worst of it before he cradled her into his chest. "You're okay. You've had worse."

"You would think that would make it easier, but it doesn't. I'm a disaster!"

Ranger tried to keep from laughing and failed. "Only a little bit."

He tried to wipe her tears away but more kept coming, a steady stream falling down her cheeks. There was no stopping it. He just wrapped her in his arms and held her close, sheltering her from the reproachful stares of the people around them. "It's alright. It's just a little spaghetti. We'll take you home and scrub you down and you'll be good as new," he said, stroking her soggy back. He knew he was probably getting some of the chaos on his clothes, but he didn't care. He looked down her body and then kissed the top of her head, hiding a smile. "Maybe not the dress."

As if she hadn't realized the extent of the damage, she dropped her eyes to the dark chocolate stains that painted her breasts. Any composure she might have been holding onto dissolved. "You just bought this dress," she bawled.

Ranger couldn't hold in the smile. "It's just a dress, Babe. I'll buy you another one."

Those tear-stained blue eyes of hers found him, her lip trembling. A little reminder that she wasn't the jaded, cold professional she ought to be. It was moments like this that made his chest warm. Filled with an energy he couldn't define. He leaned down and kissed her trembling lip.

He gave the waiter his credit card with a look that encouraged expedience, ignoring the apologies. He did his best to calm her down. It took some more kisses and whispered words, but by the time the waiter was back, she was hardly crying anymore. He picked up her bag and slung an arm around her neck, guiding her toward the exit.

She kept scanning the crowd, aware of the fact that people were still staring. "Do I look that bad?"

"No worse than you'd expect," he said, looking down at her breasts. "But I do admit I'm starting to get a craving for chocolate cake."

o o o

He watched her with morbid fascination the whole way home. The thin dress was almost transparent in places, even when the soup started to dry, showing the lines of her black lace bra through the fabric. When he opened the door for her, she was scuttling in an effort to keep it off her skin. It was pretty adorable.

He turned on the tap for her in the shower and stepping into the bedroom to put his gun on the bedside table. He knew something was off the second he crossed the threshold. The room had been disturbed. Not only had their suitcases been opened and the dresser drawers gone through, but the entire room had a vibe about it that screamed intruder. He'd have felt it the second they stepped into the cottage if he hadn't been focused on Steph. If the intruder had still been here, he might not have reacted fast enough. A possibility that upset him more than the violation.

He felt it when she came up behind him. "What is it?" she asked, and then she went still. She could sense it too. Good girl. "Someone has been in here."

Ranger stalked into the room. Didn't look like there was a single personal item that had been left unexamined, but nothing was missing.

"Think it was maid service?" she asked, but the hopeful air was thin. She already knew the answer.

"Maid service doesn't go through your belongings. Someone searched our room."

He looked over at her and saw her staring. Her wide eyes holding his. She looked like she might be sick.