Chapter 2

I went back into the bonds office; Vinnie's voice carried loud and ominous through the open door. "Stephanie, come in here. I need to talk to you."

I had no idea what I was going to say if he asked me about Scottsdale. I didn't want to go. I loved Joe, and my life here. I couldn't just pick up and leave.

Vinnie's office was bigger than it had been before the fire. He had the chance to change things when the place was rebuilt. The office was larger. It had a couch and a large desk with two leather chairs. The smell of fresh paint lingered in the air. Before the fire, you needed the air freshener turned all the way up to 10, just to enter the room.

Vinnie was a shadow of what he had been a few days before. He looked tired. Worn down. More like exhausted. Black stubble sprinkled his face in patches. his hair was as disheveled as his clothes. A permeating smell of stale beer and uncleanliness drifted off of him in waves. Usually I don't pay close attention to my cousin's hygene. One persons pigsty is another person's heaven. Who was I to judge? But it was difficult being in the same room. My mother hen gene suddenly turned on.

"Geez, Vinnie. You look like crap. Are you okay?" I inwardly grimaced. I was being insensitive. I was going for subtle, but that is not at all what flew out.

Vinnie shrugged. "I suppose Connie told you what was going on."

I nodded "Yes."

Vinnie sat at the large dark wood desk. He motioned for me to have a seat across from him. I knew what I would tell him before he asked. It was really a no brainer; I wasn't following him or the business. I loved Trenton. Why would I want to leave?

"Are you really going to do this?" I asked. "Connie is discombobulated out there. Is this serious enough to just walk away?" Lucille was never one of my all time favorite people, but living with Vinnie couldn't have been easy. I wasn't surprised when Connie told me Lucille was finished with Vinnie. I also wasn't surprised she wanted him gone. I had felt the same way when I divorced Dickie Orr. I just didn't have the backing to force it to happen.

"Yeah. Well, Lucille is a bitch." He said. "Wouldn't even accept my apology. So fuck her. Then, she has the nerve to threaten my boys." Vinnie pointed to his nuts. "She really nailed me good. The thing is, if she had taken this kind of interest in me before, we wouldn't be in this predicament. She gets all sexy when she acts like this."

I tried to concentrate on something besides that last comment. I did not want that mental picture.

"So here's the thing." He said. "You think about it. Maybe we could work something out where we would be partners or something out there. It could work." He tried to smile, but it was sad attempt. No one wanted to up and move because they were forced into it. I saw a little fright in his eyes. Like he knew that the threat was real.

"Vinnie, I don't know about Scottsdale. I have a life here."

"Yeah well, Just think about it, Ok?"

I walked out of the office thinking he was on his own. Not that it wouldn't be interesting to try and move to another state. For now, I needed to get my mind off of other people, and back to me. I had the check from Paul Banter's capture. Although It was not huge, I could grab some groceries. At the same time, I could look up the other five FTA's that I had. I needed a partner in crime. I was a little short on nerve. Plus, every good action hero needs a partner.

Batman and Robin.

Louis and Clark.

Laverne and Shirley.

Thelma and Louise.

Cagney and Lacy.

Lucy and Ethel.

Fonzi and Ritchie.

Lennie and Squiggy.

Burt & Ernie.

Ok So, I was getting out there on this one. I looked over at Lula. She didn't need an invite to decide she was finished filing for the day.

"If you're going out to pick up some of those bad guys, I need to go. We need to start collaborating on this new venture. I need practice." Lula grabbed her purse. "As long as we can pick up something to eat first, I'm starving!"

Connie shot Lula a look. She could eat. Sometimes there was no stopping that machine.

"Don't even think we can take that car of yours, neither. No way am I getting my plus size frame through one of those dinky windows. I saw that show you put on. Crawlin' out of the window. No way. We are takin' my car."

That sounded like a fine idea to me. Unless we ran into a dead guy,a naked guy, a stinky guy, or the police, Lula was there for me.

We sat in Lula's Firebird in the drive-thru line at Freda's Fried Chicken and Waffles. I asked her what she thought about going into business together.

"Damn straight we should take over Vinnie's office. Connie runs it anyways. What does Vinnie do all day anyway, besides look at naked duck porn and talk dirty to Rhonda the phone sex lady?"

She had a point. We had met Rhonda; she had missed her court date. Vinnie bonded her out again. They made some kinky arrangement about getting free phone sex for two months. It didn't matter that she weighed close to three hundred and fifty pounds in person. She sounded like a fifteen year old schoolgirl on the phone.

Lula took the folder and put it on the dashboard. "Which one of these fine examples of bonds office mistakes do we wanna go after first?" Lula Said. "I am in a mood to kick some butt. "

Lula was right, it was time to get some work done, and we did. By five O'clock, we had captured three no shows. Ricky Salinger, Carl Worthington, and Lashonda Johnson. We felt like bond enforcement bad-asses. Hells yeah. We didn't even get videotaped. Four skips in one day saved me. I almost had enough to pay my rent, buy groceries, and make a minimum payment on my Visa card. It was turning out to be a great day. I even had enough time to get back to the office, get my POS Honda, and motor on home to my apartment. I could take a shower, and get ready for dinner with Morelli. I was happy. Everything had gone right. The day had been saved. I jumped in my Bo and Luke Duke Honda and I motored towards home.

And then it happened.

"Bang!"

The car in front of me veered off the road and flipped over. I turned to see what had happened and another loud shot exploded my back window. I screamed, and ducked. Who the hell was shooting at me? What the hell! I couldn't think of anyone I had pissed off bad enough in at last six months. Who would want to kill me? My mind raced. Who got out of the clinker, anyone threatening? I couldn't think of anyone, lately. In the past there had been many, but I thought my life was pretty safe from that kind of threat at the moment. One thing for sure, I wasn't going to stick around and have someone get a better shot. I took off as fast as I could, but the car felt funny. It was hard to steer. It's a strange sensation to suddenly realize that you only have three wheels. My heart was pounding, I was shaking. I got the car to stop, and climbed out the back window as fast as I could.

I moved slowly, trying to stay out of sight. I used my car as cover, looking for a shooter. I was in the middle of town, about five blocks from the office. I glanced around. Buildings and rooftops. Plenty of places for someone to take a clear shot. The car that flipped over was behind me. There were two people trying to climb out. No one else tried to shoot at me for the last twenty seconds. I grabbed the cellphone out of my pocket, and called 911. I ran over to help the lady and man who were stuck in the overturned car.

"Do you know who was shooting at you?" I said, whispering as I ducked behind a parked car. "Are you okay?"

They both looked at me like I was nuts. "Shooting at us? No one was shooting at us!" The man said in a loud voice. "You're mistaken. I lost control of the car is all. I sure hope you weren't hurt." He helped the woman to her feet, and they dusted themselves off. He was holding his arm, blood was starting to show through the fabric.

I was stunned. Of course someone was shooting. The man had a bullet in his arm, for Christ's sake. In the backseat there was another man. He was on the large side. He had rolled onto his stomach. He didn't look like he was going to get to eat anymore Twinkies. His life was over. I hoped he had enjoyed the ride.

I knew then, this might be the part of my scary job that Joe didn't like. I was beginning to believe it may not be the job. It might be me. Things just seemed to happen when I was around.

I sat on the curb in front of Lane's Smog and Wash, watching the first-responders. Ambulances, fire trucks, police cars,coroner,Morelli. Ranger angled his car in, and stopped near me. Both of them made me feel safe, but also made me feel so small. All these people had my back. I needed protecting. Either from myself or from others. They waited for calls about things that I was involved in. Had I expected them to do this forever? I knew it wasn't fair to assume they would. When does Wonder Woman ever need assistance? She didn't even need a sidekick. I didn't feel like Wonder Woman anymore. Maybe Trenton needed to slow down, or maybe I needed to speed up.

Morelli walked over to me. He looked concerned. "Are you alright?" He sat down next to me. "The older gentleman, and the woman are going to be okay; He has a gunshot in his right arm. He says he doesn't remember it happening. The woman, she acts confused. Of course they also claim to have never seen the dead guy in the back seat. I think they are going to be spending some time at my office." He paused, and looked me over once more. "You sure you're okay?"

I nodded, but I wanted to cry. I wanted Joe to realize I could take care of myself, and I kept proving myself wrong. He was a good cop. He didn't deserve a girlfriend who couldn't stay out of trouble for more than two months at a time. I was beginning to feel like I was part of someone's bad joke. I put my head down into my lap.

My car was totaled, sort of. Well. Might as well be. Joe hugged me, kissing me on my forehead. He said he was happy I wasn't hurt, and that he would see me tonight. Sad thing is, he was so use to me getting into these messes, that he didn't even think I needed a ride home. I watched him walk away.

Joe and Ranger did a nonverbal trade off of the "Stephanie watch". As Morelli walked away, Ranger came over to me. He looked at me for a moment, standing over me. "I think it is safe to say that your Honda is toast. What happened?"

I honestly did not know what happened. I shrugged, and stood up. "Scottsdale is looking better all the time." And this time, for the first time, I walked away. I'd had enough. I had done everything right, and the day just kept kicking me in the ass. I started walking home, wondering why I couldn't even drive to my apartment without something bad happening. I was frustrated. I needed to think.

A half hour later, I was halfway home. A car pulled up, angled in front of me, stopping my slow course home. The dark tinted window slid down.

"Get In"

I was hot, I was tired. I needed someone to talk to, so I did. It was Ranger.

"You walked away from me, don't do that. It's not polite, and put your seat belt on."

I just glared at him. It had been a hell of a day. I did not want this right now. What I wanted was for him to understand. I 'needed' him to understand. To give me courage, fix the feelings of inadequacy that had taken over. Make me feel better about everything. I realized then that he wasn't Batman. This was just a man. Someone who didn't understand me anymore than I understood myself. Someone who thought I needed a seat belt. He must have seen something in my eyes. He turned back to the road, focused. And just drove.

Ranger turned the car onto an overpass and stopped. We both got out. Him first, and then I followed reluctantly. We were close to the outskirts of Trenton. I could see the neighborhood I grew up in, I could see the good and the bad, the lights and the traffic. It was already dusk. I could clearly see most of Jersey from this very spot.

Ranger leaned on his car and looked out over the city. "Sometimes I come out here when I need to think. I can get a clear prospective if I look at the whole picture. If you look at something differently, it makes a lot more sense. That is your city, Stephanie." He pointed out over Trenton. "You shouldn't be afraid of it. You have a gift. The ability to get under people's skin. They remember you, like it or not." He turned to me, looking into my eyes. "That is why you have trouble. No one forgets you. Not only that, but when you are doing your job and after someone, God help them. You're like a Bloodhound after a scent."

I leaned on the car next to him, trying to reach the same conclusion about myself, but having a little trouble thinking of myself as a bloodhound. Most of the time I was lucky, but a bloodhound? I just couldn't see it. I think Joe maybe right. I am going to really get hurt one day. Today's accident proved it. Maybe my nine lives were up.

Ranger turned to look at me. I could see the lights of the city shine in his eyes, he smiled and looked out over Trenton. "What amazes me most is you don't see yourself as anything but a fuck up. That is where people have the advantage. You don't understand just how incredible you are. Just because there are people in your life that don't understand you, doesn't mean what you do is screwed up or wrong. Just different."

We stood in silence for a long time. "I think you are trying to get in my pants, Carlos Manoso." I said. "Stop teasing me."

Ranger barked out a laugh. "Shit, Stephanie. If I wanted in your pants, it would have happened already. You are an open book. I know all your tells."

I couldn't help but smile. "Yeah, I guess you do." I kicked the rocks at my feet in an attempt to change the subject. He had given me a tremendous compliment, and I had nowhere to go with it. It felt weird saying "thank you".

"So what happened, how come you were gone so long?" I said. I didn't know what I expected him to say, but I had missed him. He was gone for months. He usually kept his comings and goings pretty secret. Most of the time, all I got is a one word answer about his journeys,or sometimes just a smile. Ranger was very secretive. It bugged the hell out of me. Maybe this was an opportunity to find out juicy stuff about his life.

"I was in El Salvador. Not exactly a story I want to repeat. I couldn't even if I wanted to. It's confidential." Ranger moved away from his car, and opened the passenger side for me. "I want to know about what happened today, but I have an appointment that I need to keep. Tomorrow morning, stop by Rangeman. I have some things to discuss with you. I really would like to know the story with the car and the sniper."

Sniper? I was really hoping he was wrong. If there was a sniper, the chances were 50/50 that he was shooting at me. Ranger dropped me off at my apartment, just as Joe showed up with sandwiches and beer. When I saw Joe, I got instant butterflies. He was the light at the end of the tunnel, and he was holding food. Ranger's disposition darkened when he saw Joe. He squeezed my hand and said, "tomorrow."

I watched him drive away, wondering what meeting he suddenly needed to get to. Joe was waiting for me by his new truck. It was a dark gray Ford F-150. He had bought it about a year ago. He looked so good standing next to it, that I wanted to bite him. But when I looked into his eyes, they were soft, like mocha and a little sad. He took my hand and we went upstairs to my apartment. It was cool and dark when we went in. I put my bag down on the counter and fed Rex what was left of an apple. Joe was looking at me intently. I wondered what was on his mind. He didn't bring Bob; I knew he wasn't staying the night. I had an erie feeling in my stomach and I didn't even know why.

We unwrapped our sandwiches, and popped open a couple beers, Just like a couple who had been together for years. We stood eating in the kitchen. I was silent. Waiting. I wanted him to say what he needed to say. I didn't take long.

"Stephanie, you need to tell me what happened today, and you still need to go and give your statement to the investigators." He said, as he finished a bite of his sandwich.

I told him all I knew, which was not a lot. I was driving, The car in front of me flipped after I heard a gunshot. My back window blew out. I had no idea why someone would shoot at me, or the couple in front of me. I had no idea who it was or where It came from.

Joe let out a long sigh and he looked down. "I really don't think I can do this anymore, Stephanie."

I was confused. It sounded like this was rehearsed.

"You are always going to be in danger. You are always going to need to be rescued. Even if you're not at the bonds office. You still get shot at, kidnapped, and weird things happen to you."

I was stupefied to say the least. I couldn't believe it. He was going to break up with me. This was a breakup speech. I know my life was a little complicated but he was giving up on us!

"I am 35 years old, Stephanie. I really need some normal in my life. I don't think you can do normal. I have been thinking about this a lot, I don't want to tell you how to feel, or tell you what you can and can't do with your life. It isn't fair. I want things that I don't think you can give me anymore."

I took a deep breath. I was pinching myself, trying to make this go away. This had to be a nightmare. This was not happening to me.

"Day in and day out, I see horrific things." He said. "When I get home, I want to shut it off. I want to have a family that shields me from the horrors of what I go through every day. I want a stable relationship that I am not worried about. I want kids, and I want them to grow up safe and out of harm's way. I just don't think that is what you want, or need anymore. Stephanie, you are a walking disaster. I love you, damn it, but I can't be with you anymore. There is no future in this."

Crap. I can't believe this is happening. I felt sick. I wanted to throw up. I held my breath and counted down. I couldn't talk. I just sat there with a half eaten sandwich in my hand. He called me a walking disaster. I finally sat the sandwich on the counter, and tried to steady myself.

"I need to start my life, Cupcake. I just feel like we are going in circles." He looked at me and I knew he wanted me to be okay with this. I was not okay with this. I was not okay with anything anymore. This day was like a monster. My whole life caved in, in less than 17 seconds, I had lost everything.

Joe stayed with me for a little while longer, then took the coward's way out and said he had to get back. Bob would want to go out, and he needed to think. I couldn't talk. I was in shock. There were no words that I could come up with. My life as I knew it was getting up and leaving. All I could do was wait for this nightmare to end.

Before he left, he said. "Stephanie, I will always love you, more than you know. But this is my life. I need to feel confident that I can come home to someone who can be there for me, or I can't do my job.

And then he was gone. Just like that.