Yay! Another update. I'm getting good with this once a week thing. I hope you enjoy the chapter. I loved writing it.

Also, I went and saw the One for the Money movie. Pretty good. It was a little different from the book, but I thought everyone played their parts pretty well. I love the look on Ranger's face whenever Stephanie ate. It was perfect! Just the right amount of awe and disgust... Exactly what I think Ranger would do.

Not mine. If you didn't know that though, we got problems.

Secondly, I want to remind people that this is a complete work of FICTION. I didn't do much research, just enough to make sure things made sense. Anything that I get wrong is an accident, but I wasn't looking to make this 100% accurate. I wrote it the way I did because that's how I wanted to write it.

Thwap. Thwap. Thwap.

The pounding of my feet on the treadmill matched my heart rate. I let my mind wander as Metallica pounded in my ears. Then the machine beeped, announcing the beginning of my cool-down exercises. Five more minutes and I was done. I took the headphones off when Bobby took the treadmill next to me.

"You're here early." He said with surprise in his voice. Bobby was 6'1" of pure chocolate muscle. He was the company medic and my part time partner. Being part of the A-team, he doesn't get out much, so when I need backup, Bobby is more than willing to ride shotgun with me.

"Couldn't sleep." I replied, panting. "A lot on my mind."

"Would this have anything to do with the upcoming meeting… or would this have to do with Morelli's upcoming date?"

I stopped the machine and started stretching. "How do you know about that?"

"The medical community is very small." He replied, shrugging. "Plus, Nina and I are friends."

"Ah," I nodded. Things began making sense. I looked at Bobby's face. The worried look almost made me smile. He thought I was going to punch something or cry. "I'm not jealous of him. I'm happy."

"You are." He didn't look convinced.

"Sure," I said, shrugging. "Why shouldn't he date? We're not together anymore."

I think this was the first time I've actually seen a Rangeman surprised. I felt my brow furrow. "You didn't know? I thought everyone knew."

Bobby stopped his treadmill. "No. I had no idea. Are you okay?"

"Sure. It ended amicably."

"Well that's a surprise. I would've thought…"

"That we'd end it publicly and screaming?" I smiled. "So did everyone else."

"Does Ranger know?"

Now the guys have been watching me and Ranger dance around each other for years. Every time Joe and I were off, Ranger and I were very close. When we were on, he's kept his distance.

"Yeah," I said, looking down to grab my bottle of water. "He knows."

"So are you two a couple?" He looked hopeful.

"No."

Bobby looked pissed. "That bastard. He knows…"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, watch it there, Rambo." I held my hands up. "This is all on me. I'm trying to figure out what I want. I'm trying to grow up."

He scoffed. "We all know it's Ranger."

I bit my lip. "I'm not sure. I hope so."

Again, Bobby looked surprised. "I don't understand."

"Every relationship I've ever been in, I went in head first. This time, I want to make sure I'm making the right decision." I lowered my head. "I don't want to screw it up this time."

He stood in front of me and placed his hands on my shoulders. "I think that's very grown up of you. I'm proud of you."

I blushed. "Thanks."

"If you figure out that it's Ranger and he screws it up, can I kick his ass?"

"Be my guest." I said, smiling.

"This is why I love you."

I stepped off on five and went to say hi to Cal and Binkie in the control room. They were stuck on early monitor duty, aka the worst shift in the entire company. It's worse than surveillance at three in the morning. Cal was 6'2", all lean muscle with a flaming skull tattooed to his forehead. The guy looked scary, but on the inside, I knew that he's a big softie. Binkie looked up with his piercing green eyes and smiled at me. He was the same height as Cal, but had more muscles than him.

Some days, I really love working at Rangeman.

"Nice cut." I said, rubbing what was left of his black hair. He had it cut to his scalp.

"Thanks. I'm trying something new."

Cal held up a donut. "Thanks for these." He smiled at me.

"Anytime." Usually Ranger didn't allow sweets on the floor, but we came to an agreement. We don't overindulge and Ranger turns a blind eye. Really, it's a win-win for all.

I glanced over at Ranger's office. The light was on. Good. He was up and I could take a shower in his apartment without going home. Good thing I kept a change of clothes at my desk. I gave the guys a wave and headed over.

I fobbed myself into Ranger's apartment and sighed with relief. I don't know what it was about Ranger's apartment, but I always felt calm and safe here. Maybe it had something to do with the man who lived there…

I stripped and started the shower. All I could think about was getting naked and cleaning up. I had grudgingly begun to enjoy exercising, but I still hated to sweat.

I was loading my loofah (yes, Ranger lets me keep a loofah in his shower), when the door opened.

"Jesus Christ!" I tried to cover myself up. "I'm showering here!"

"Yes. I can see that. What are you doing? It's nothing I haven't seen before." Ranger's glassy eyes were dark. He looked like he had just woken up; even his boxers were crooked. It was sexy.

"Do you mind?"

"Not at all. In fact, I will pay you to just be in my shower naked."

"Tempting, but no. Shut the door please."

He grinned and obliged. "Not that I mind, but what are you doing in my shower?"

"I couldn't sleep so I came in to run on the treadmill. I thought you were in your office. The light was on."

"I'm going to leave out any comparison to Rex right now. Natalie was in there. We were going over some things. I came up here for a few hours of sleep when you sauntered in and started stripping. I thought I was dreaming." I could hear the smile in his voice.

Damn, how had I missed him in bed? "I'll be out of your way soon."

"Take your time. I'll call Ella."

My mouth watered. I loved Ella's cooking. She cooked better than my mother. If she adopted me, I'd learn how to cook.

"Ella's pleased that you're here. She making you pancakes." Ranger said when he returned to the bathroom.

"God, I love her."

He opened the door. "I called her. Don't I get any love?"

I kissed him on the cheek. He grinned at me. "Need help with your back?"

"Get a grip."

His grin widened and he shut the door.

Twenty minutes later, I came out of the bedroom to see Ella putting the plate of pancakes down.

"Good morning, dear." Ella said with a bright smile.

"Good morning." I replied. "Ella, you are a goddess."

She blushed brightly. "Glad you think so."

"Statues will be erected."

She grinned. "Did you stay here last night?" She looked as hopeful as Bobby did.

"No, I was downstairs exercising and Ranger surprised me when I came up here to clean up."

Her face fell a little. "Oh. If you or Ranger need anything, just call."

"Will do."

I sat down and I was moaning my way through the large plate of pancakes and sausage when Ranger joined me. He grimaced.

"I don't know where you put it all."

"I was blessed with a fast metabolism."

"Still." He grimaced harder when I poured syrup on my sausage. "Jesus."

"Think of it as one of life's mysteries."

"It's something alright."

I looked at his egg white omelet. "That's what I see when I look at your food."

He smirked. "Cute."

"So, you and Natalie were working late."

"Babe…" He had a slight warning in his tone.

"No, I know that she's not your time. I just thought that she would be putting the screws to Lester."

Ranger's eyebrow rose. "Lester. Really." He picked up his coffee cup. "She does know that he's a manslut, right?"

"Yep." I smiled. "She likes a challenge."

"Good. He could use a deflation in his ego."

"That's what I said!"

"You know what they say about great minds…" He tucked a curl behind my ear.

I smiled. Sighing, I sat back. "I don't think I can move."

Ranger looked at his watch. "You have about twenty minutes. Natalie wanted to see your feedback before the meeting."

"Shit. I forgot about that." I got up and grabbed my purse. "I wanted to give it one more look."

"Okay." Natalie said, bringing the meeting to order. She started her power point presentation. "Richard Souffe, aged around 43, former government operative, turned gun runner. He is thought to be a part of around a hundred murders and countless accidents. He mainly works out of the Texas/ Mexican border. He also has a house with his wife in Huston.

"After being honorably discharged, he was a model citizen for a few years and then popped back up in connection to the Mexican drug cartels as well as a Columbian drug cartels."

"Cartels?" Lester asked. "Wouldn't that fall under DEA jurisdiction?"

"Due to budget cuts, the DEA is already stretched thin. We've been taking some of their cases that are in connection with firearms as well."

"So why not put a task force together?" Tank asked. His name said it all. The man looked and acted like a tank; silent and scary. "Put newer agents on the force."

Natalie paused. "They did."

Everyone in the room froze. Cal and Hal exchanged looks.

Ranger's blank face came out. "I don't understand. If there is an ongoing investigation there's not much we can do."

"They broke up the task force about three months ago. Claimed there wasn't enough evidence and there wasn't enough money in the budget. All of this is circumstantial. The US Attorney wants concrete evidence before they start making arrests.

"My boss is giving me a short leash on this. We get one shot to get the evidence we need. I came to you because you are the best."

We all looked at Ranger.

"You're sure about this?" He asked.

She nodded. "I have an informant on the inside, but we need more. People tend to disappear around him."

Ranger's fist clenched. "What's your plan?"

She grinned now, seeing that we were in. "How do you feel about getting married?"

"I'm sorry, what?"

Natalie nodded to me. "This was all Stephanie's doing. You want to take it from here?"

I stood up and clasped my hands together so they couldn't see them shake. "I was looking through the file and almost missed it. Richard and Anne got married about three years ago right before he retired. They were doing well, for a while and then suddenly, the money in their bank accounts disappeared. I followed my nose and the money and found several bills for an oncology doctor. She had breast cancer."

The guys looked confused. Natalie and I shared a smile. Only men wouldn't get it.

I turned to Ranger. "If Julie was injured, would you do anything to make sure she got what she needed?"

"Of course."

"That's exactly what he did. He made sure that she got all the care that she needed, no matter the cost."

"So he's actually a good guy." Bobby said, looking a little sad. "Just trying to make ends meet."

I nodded. "I would've said yes about two years ago."

"What happened?"

Natalie got back up. "Two years ago, there was a bombing at a Mexican school. They used the guys supplied from him to kill over twenty children."

"Jesus."

"That's not the worst part." I said. "I found this picture buried in a newspaper." Natalie clicked the slide.

There, in plain sight of everything, was our bad guy Richard Souffe, holding one of the guns at the school.

Ranger's fist clenched harder on his leg. I grabbed it and wrapped my fingers around it. He gave me a small smile of thanks in return.

"How is he getting these guns?" Tank asked.

"This is the amusing part. Anywhere he can get them. Military bases, pawn shops, gun stores, even police auctions."

"Police auctions?"

"Sure. Cities are selling anything they can so they can keep their officers. It's rare, but cops put one or two guns in under the radar. Usually guns related to robberies and not murders. We usually miss it or it's too far gone to trace."

"He probably dissembles the guns and puts different gun parts together. It's not an exact science, but they can resell it. The serial numbers won't match so it's harder to trace." Ranger said.

"I'm still not sure what the wife has to do with it." Leave it to Bobby to bring us back to topic.

"Two years ago, he had paid of all the bills. Now he does it for fun." I said, looking at the picture. "Maybe it brings back some of the fond memories and he wanted some of it back. Vicarious thrills."

"Sounds like he's doing it for fun now. Fantastic." Lester said, sarcastically.

"My money is on that she doesn't know. He loves her too much to tell her what he's really doing so that's our best in. If she has no idea, then he's not going to be as suspicious if she makes a new friend as he would with a potential cartel buyer."

"Go in through the back door. Nice digging, Babe."

I blushed.

"So who are you going to send in with him?" Lester asked. We could tell he liked the plan.

"How about you? You two would be a handsome couple." Natalie said to him. She had a sickly sweet smile on her face.

"No way could I pull off the gay look."

"I don't know…"

"Hey!"

"Children…" Ranger said.

I snickered.

"Fine if you won't, what about Stephanie?"

This was news to me. "What?"

"Sure. You guys have the chemistry. Everyone would think that you're already married. Besides, I can't do it so things stay on the up and legal."

I looked at Ranger. "I don't know…"

"I don't either." We both knew about my big decision that would probably hold me back from being too intimate.

"Actually, that's a good idea." Lester said.

"No." That was from Bobby. I could tell he was trying to protect me and my very important decision.

Tank was silent. Ranger looked at him. "Well?"

"The only other option is Jeanne."

I felt Ranger shiver. "Pass."

Well. Now I felt a little giddy.

"Then, I think she's your only option."

Ranger thought for a moment, then sighed. "Babe, you up for some undercover work?"

I paused. I didn't have a choice. It was either let this guy continue to kill or play house with Ranger for a few months.

And really, how bad could that be?

"I'm game."