CHAPTER 1

Sitting in the buttery soft, leather passenger seat of the Porche 911 Turbo meant nothing to me as I stared out the window, fuming. Fuming at Ranger.

I, Stephanie Plum, had somehow, acquired a psycho admirer after the latest article in the Trenton Times was published a little over three weeks ago. A parcel was sent via courier to Rangeman, addressed to me, and I couldn't have been more disturbed by the contents. A handful of creepy love letters accompanied by vials of blood, urine, swatches of what looked to be my hair and a pair of my lacy panties still damp with what the crime lab determined to be likely bodily fluids. They were going to run the samples and see if they could find a DNA match in the records.

Normal SOP at Rangeman for all incoming mail is a quick swab test for explosive residue and an x-ray. So, before I even knew I had any mail, it had been determined it to be a threat. The Core Team and I circled around the conference table as I opened it. Needless to say, the guys all freaked the hell out. I was put on a tight lockdown, Ranger's orders. I was whisked away to a safehouse somewhere in New Jersey, under the cover of darkness and held there for three weeks. Against my will. Nobody outside of the Core Team and a few of the Merry Men knew what was going on or where I was.

Three weeks.

Three whole frickin' weeks I was held in that safehouse!

I finally had enough of the bullshit after Ranger refused to release me and I slipped my guards. Bones and Baker were too busy chowing down on the ribs they had slow barbequed all day, to notice me slip out the door with the SUV keys. I drove back to Trenton to find the stalker holed up in my bedroom, fingering my panties. Eww.

We came to an understanding that I would be going wherever he wanted me to go when his gun joined the conversation. We had made it down to the ground floor of my building when we were surrounded by Ranger and the Merry Men. I escaped from the situation with a few bruises and a broken nail from raking them down the stalker's arms. He on the other hand, ended up with a lovely extra hole in his head courtesy of Lester Santos and his amazing aim.

After talking to the cops and getting looked at by Bobby and given the okay, Ranger grabbed me by the arm forcefully and dragged me to his car. I was unceremoniously thrown into the passenger seat before we peeled out of the apartment parking lot, headed for Rangeman.

So here I was sitting in the Turbo staring out the window, fuming. Fuming at Ranger.

"What the hell were you thinking? Leaving your guards like that?" His tone furious.

"What the hell do you expect me to do Ranger?" My hands began to flail as I yelled back. "I was being held prisoner. You know the meaning of prisoner, don't you? It means I was being held there against my will!"

"Stephanie! You were there for your own protection." Uh, oh. He used my first name; he must be pissed. Although, I could guarantee, that I was way more pissed off than he was.

"Bullshit. You were compartmentalizing me again. I am not some plaything, some object, that you can just put away on a shelf when you need me out of the way! I am a human being that has feelings and wants and needs and a life outside of the crazy game called 'Let's see who is trying to kill Stephanie this week'."

"What would you have me do? Hmm? Hand you over to one of these sick fuckers? Because that's not a fucking option!" By this time Ranger had finally blown a head gasket. He was yelling right back at me, eyes full of fire and anger.

"I would have talked to me, planned with me, worked with me! Not shuffled me off to hide somewhere. I didn't even know where I was! How dare you do that to me. If I didn't love you so much, I would have charges pressed against you for kidnapping, you Ass!"

"What you want, or what you think, doesn't matter in this. Your life is all that matters. I'd do it again if I had to. But I'll be damned if your stupid, stubborn ass is going to stop me from keeping you safe. I don't fucking care if you liked it or not. You are alive because of it!"

"You don't care? You don't care?! Fuck you, Ranger! I can't believe I listened to all the bullshit you threw at me over the years. If you cared about me at all, you would have talked to me instead of treating me like some stupid piece of property." I sat in silence stunned at my revelation. "That's all I am to you, aren't I? Property. Like a cow or a car."

"That's not what I meant..."

I cut him off with a glare. "That's all I ever was to you. Don't deny it. I was just some stupid bitch to dip your wick in when you felt the need... Oh, my God! You're only doing this, so you don't have to work so hard to find another woman to fall into your little trap. That's all this boils down to, isn't it? You just need me for the sex, is that it?"

"Damn it Stephanie! You're more than just a fucking piece of snatch!" The slam of his hand onto the steering wheel finally clued me into the fact the subject of our fight was beyond what I was comfortable with. I was nobody's kept woman. Sleeping with Ranger in exchange for my safety. It made me feel like Ranger's whore.

I was nobody's whore.

"Stop the car. STOP THE FUCKING CAR!" He slammed on the brakes, the car skidding to a stop cock-eyed in the middle of the road. My body lurched forward only stopped from hitting the dashboard by the seatbelt across my body. "I can't do this anymore. I love you, but you can't and won't let me make informed decisions about my own safety. I can't and won't allow that anymore." I flung the seatbelt off, the metal portion hitting the door panel with a loud thump. "I won't sleep with you for my guaranteed safety anymore. I'm not a whore. I'm sorry. I can't do this. I just can't." I opened my door and slammed it shut behind me.

Stalking down the street away from the Turbo, I heard the motor gun and the tires on the car squeal as he peeled away. Stopping in my tracks, I closed my eyes, sighed deeply and hung my head. A few moments later, I heard a familiar voice call over from the opposite side of the road. "Hey Cupcake, need a ride?"

"Fuck off Morelli." I ground out. "I don't want or need your help right now."

"Aww, don't be like that. I'll take you back to my house. How about some pizza and beer?" I refused to look at him, and as mad as I was, I was sure I'd kill him if given the proper opportunity.

"Fuck off JOE! I don't want, nor do I need your help right now." I marched away only to be manhandled by an extremely upset Italian Stallion. A large hand encompassed my upper arm, and I was swung around to find myself, face to face with Joe. He clearly was not happy at my public dismissal; his brows were furrowed and that little vein above the scar on his eyebrow began to pulse a bit like when he was extremely angry.

"What the fuck is your problem? I haven't heard from you in weeks, you get stranded by Manoso in the middle of fucking Hamilton Avenue and you're in a fucking snit."

"Like I said, I don't want, nor do I need your help. We broke up over five months ago. I'm not your problem anymore. Now fuck off." I yanked my arm out of his grasp and walked away with an angry Joe screaming at my back.

Twenty minutes later, I realized I was once again being followed by someone. Unable to stop myself, I spun around to face the person, stun gun at the ready. "What the fuck do you want? Your boss tell you to come find me and bring me back to Rangeman so he can yell at me some more and possible torture me?" I screamed, tears flowing down my cheeks. I was emotionally drained at this point, no filter on my mouth.

Ram and Vince stepped back in shock. "Angel? What do you mean yell at you some more?" Ram asked, his face showing the shock and disbelief on his face.

"Your fucking boss! You gonna take me back so Ranger can fucking strangle me?" I threw my hands up in defeat, "He's never been that mad at me before. He'll hurt me if I go back now. I saw it in his face." My voice was at a whisper by this point, tears running down my face unchecked, my knees buckled, and I pitched forward into Vince's arms, worn out and exhausted mentally and physically.

"Mama, you're safe with us. I promise." Startled, Vince cradled my body in his arms. We quickly moved to Ram's personal truck, protecting me from prying eyes and open Burg ears. My tears and sobs carried on as he held me while Ram drove away from Hamilton Avenue. "Shh, Mama. I got you. No one's gonna be mad at you. We'll protect you. I promise." The feeling of warm, caring arms surrounding me helped to calm me to mere sup-sups and sniffles.

Ram quickly made a call, "Yeah. It's me. I need to start my vacation a couple of days early... I know... It's a personal matter... Vince, too... No, it's none of your fucking business why... Well, he can kiss my lily-white fucking ass if he gets all pissy about it. I don't fucking care... I'm due the time off anyway... Yeah. Thanks Santos. Later."

"We good?" Vince asked Ram, eyeing him from the back seat of the truck as he held me in his arms.

"Yeah. We're good. Santos approved it and said he'll hold off Ranger and Tank if they want to know why we're gone two days early." He shifted in the driver's seat to see me better, "Angel, we got you. We'll keep you safe. We're headed to my house."

The ending of Ram's call left the truck in almost silence, save the sound of the truck engine as we motored down the roadway. A few minutes later we pulled up in front of a normal looking, nondescript looking ranch style home well outside the Burg. Vince gathered me into his arms, and we followed Ram through the white picket fence, up the cobbled walkway and into the house. We settled down onto a comfortable leather couch in the living room while Ram walked off to the kitchen and returned with a six-pack of beer.

"Angel? Want to tell us what happened? We haven't seen or heard from you in weeks."

"He fucking kidnapped me. 'It's for your own safety, Babe.' " I mimicked Ranger as best I could. "I had another stalker and Ranger just whisked me away to some safehouse and left me there with Bones and Baker for the last three weeks!"

"Are you fucking kidding us? Ranger just told us you were safe and not to worry when we asked where you were." Vince said, tucking a wayward curl behind my ear as he spoke.

"No. I'm not kidding. He grabbed me in the middle of the night and shipped me off to some safehouse. I'm not even sure exactly where, other than it was west of Bridgeton. Stow Creek, possibly? Anyway, I snuck out last night when Dumb and Dumber were too busy eating their ribs to pay attention to me. I grabbed the SUV keys and booked it out of there. Next thing I know, I'm in my apartment trying to go to bed and the latest nutjob is holding me at gun point. Needless to say, Ranger and the guys found us trying to get downstairs and Lester put a bullet into Mr. Nutjob's head."

"Jesus, Angel! Are you alright?" Ram moved from the chair opposite of the couch and sat on the coffee table directly in front of me. "How did you end up on Hamilton?" Vince squeezed my hand letting me know he was right beside me, giving me his strength.

"I'm okay. I guess. I haven't had much time to think about the whole thing." I sniffled and popped open a beer, guzzling half in one go. "As for why I was walking on Hamilton, well... let's just say, I finally broke Ranger." Their disbelieving looks had me frown in both frustration and a bit of anger. "He lost it on me. I get it. I know I fucked up ditching my guards like that but damn it... I was being held there against my will. I mean, Bones only had to taze me twice the whole time, but I just wanted to go home..."

"MAMA! Why was Ranger mad at you? And don't think we're not going to revisit the whole tazer thing later." Vince was pissed, I was just glad it wasn't at me. He was one scary dude when he was pissed.

"Sorry. Geez. So, Ranger hauled me off to his car after I finished talking to the cops. He threw me in and we took off toward Rangeman. He just started screaming at me. It was like Joe all over again. I couldn't do it. I couldn't allow it to happen all over again. I was done. DONE!"

"Angel. Did he touch you?" Ram was quiet when he asked, his green eyes boring into mine.

"No. But... I mean, the way he was losing it, I wasn't sure, and I told him to stop the car. I jumped out and he left me there. It's bad enough I realized the only reason he keeps me around is so he can get his rocks off when he wants a romp between the sheets. Or in his car. Or in his SUV. Or in my apartment. Or..."

"I think we get it." Vince stopped me by placing his very large hand over my mouth. He dropped it right after my mouth snapped shut.

"I just... I realized that I no better than a whore. Scratch that! I am a Whore! Ranger gives me security and safety in exchange for a little slap and tickle. Thus, I'm a fucking whore!" I broke down into sobs once again, Vince wrapped me into his arms a low growl emanating from both his chest as well as Ram's.

"Angel. You're no one's whore!" Growling, Ram leaned down and kissed the top of my head and I burrowed into Vince's chest for comfort. Thirty minutes later I fell asleep, tears still tracking down my face. The guys lifted me from where I had slumped over onto the couch and settled me into a bed in the spare bedroom, tucking me in after slipping off my shoes and socks. Little did I know that Ram and Vince finding me would be the best thing that ever happened in my life.