Disclaimer: I do not own Stephanie Plum or her cohorts. Nor do I make any money from the posting of this fanfiction.

Here's the next chapter! Enjoy!

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XXX

Chapter Two

She went over to the workstation that was cordoned off with yellow crime tape. Maxine looked over the station, sitting down on the chair in front of the work area. She reached under the table area and pulled up a trashcan. Tasty Cake wrappers, a couple of expired coupons for Cluck in a Bucket, and a few crumpled receipts. Flattening them out, she was looking over the items on each one. Several of the things had her wanting to highlight it. Her head shot out and looked over to see Cal watching her intently.

"Do you have a highlighter I can use?"

He held it up asking, "Yellow?"

"Sure." He tossed it over to her and she caught it easily as she went back to work.

It was while she was looking it over and rubbing her neck that she heard a protest.

"What the fuck!" Lester roared as soon as he saw her sitting at Stephanie's station without seeing who it was. "We aren't replacing…" And that's when Maxine turned to look at him. "Well, shit." He lowered his head and muttered, "Hey, Max."

"Lester," she murmured. "Carlos called me to help out. I'm in no way here to replace anyone."

"Couldn't if you tried," he muttered.

She nodded to this. "You wouldn't happen to know who Stephanie's best friends are?"

"Why?"

"Because best girlfriends know what their men never will," she explained to him. "So do you know their names?"

"Max!"

A broad grin broke out on her face. "Bobby!" She limped out to him and the two hugged tightly.

Lester's eyes narrowed and growled when the big man told her something that had her laughing. She stepped back, slapping his partner as she said, "I have not loss muscle tone! I'll have you know I'm in the best shape of my life, thank you very much."

"Where's Sam?" This from Lester.

Maxine looked over to him. "You didn't bother to read any of the e-mails I sent you, I take it?" She nodded to herself. "I shouldn't be shocked. Sam died a year ago, Lester." She turned to Bobby, asking, "Do you by any chance know who Stephanie's best friends are?"

He thought it over. "We spoke to everyone she knows."

"I figured as much," she said, beginning to sound annoyed. "But I need to speak to her girlfriends."

"Why?" Lester demanded. "What did you find?"

"I found a trail of sorts," she said, looking down at the receipts in her hands.

Lester made a lunge for the papers, which knocked Maxine off balance. She let out a yelp and crashed to the ground. He managed to get the receipts and was looking through them, even as Bobby was helping Maxine to her feet. It was in the middle of doing so that Lester saw it. The fake limb had been revealed thanks to her wide pant leg riding up when she fell down.

"What happened to your leg?"

"You should have read the e-mails," she told him in a tight voice, as Cal handed over her cane. "Thanks." Letting out a long breath, she looked at Lester. "It was a landmine and Sam blocked most of the blow when he tackled me to the ground. He died in my arms." She reached over and snagged the receipts from his numb fingers. "Next time, just ask for whatever I might be holding. I would have handed them to you."

Maxine walked over to Tank's door, knocking on it.

"Enter!"

She opened it, looking in and asking, "Can you spare someone to drive me somewhere?"

He sat up all the straighter. "Where?"

"Who are her best girlfriends?" she asked. "I keep asking, but I have yet to get a damn answer."

He glared over to the guys, before saying, "There's Lula and Connie over at the bonds office. She went to school with this woman named Marylou. If there are others, I don't know."

Maxine nodded to this and inquired, "And the ride?"

"I'll be taking you," Lester said, his voice brooking no arguments.

"Which place is closer?" Maxine inquired.

"The bonds office," Lester said, as he grabbed up his keys. "I won't be needing a partner on this, Bobby."

He took a step back, holding up his hands that told him that he wasn't going to fight him on that.

Lester rode in the elevator down with her to the garage in silence. Once to the SUV, he let her in and went around to the other side of the car.

As soon as they were on the road, she asked, "How are you doing, Lester?"

His lips went tight for a moment. "I've been better."

"I take it that your cousin didn't tell you that he called me?"

"No."

He pulled to a stop and she looked around. "Are we there…"

"We need to speak," he said, his voice hard. "You should have called me."

"I did." He looked at her startled. "I called from the hospital in Afghanistan, I called from the hospital in Germany, and I called you from the V.A. in Washington D.C. I e-mailed you. I tried to find out your SAT phone number and got nowhere. I couldn't stop crying so they doped me up and wouldn't let me near anyway to get a hold of you. Not that it mattered, seeing as you either couldn't or wouldn't answer. Finally I gave up."

"Did you talk to someone?" he asked.

"Yeah, a woman," she said. "Said her name was Rose."

He cursed, hitting the steering wheel. Undoing the seatbelt, he went out of the vehicle and went over to the passenger side. Opening the door, he undid her seatbelt and pulled her into a hug.

At first she didn't know what to do, but then he started speaking. "I am so sorry, mi reina." Her arms went around him tightly, burying her face against his neck and inhaling his unique scent. He pulled back, combing her short dark hair out of her face. "You cut your hair even shorter." He looked into her deep green eyes.

"They had to shave my head," she murmured. "I looked like a shorn sheep for the longest time. My family bought me a bunch of wigs. They said one of them made me look like Shakira." She smiled sheepishly. "I think they were exaggerating, but they were trying to boost my spirits."

"Why shave your head?"

"I took some shrapnel to the head," she told him, showing him some scarring to her side of her neck that went up into her hair line. "To the upper body as well. Luckily the helmet and jacket caught most of it. But given how close it was I was lucky to walk away."

"What happened?" he asked quietly. "You know how to avoid landmines. I've seen it myself."

She nodded. "The guy I was partnered with, he sent a newbie ahead of himself." Maxine absently combed her fingers through his hair. "Madre de Dios, él me quería muerta."

His arms went all the tighter. "What's his name?"

"Dead man walking if I tell it to you," she muttered. "I just want to get on with life."

Lester combed his fingers through her straight, thick pixie haircut, looking at the short lustrous locks. Smiling absently upon seeing the lustrous black-brown shade it was, he said, "I finally know your real hair color."

"Yeah, but it was a close thing though. My niece wanted to dye my hair pink or purple. She couldn't make up her mind."

He chuckled at that even as she was playing with his spiky tresses. "As much as I would love to keep playing with your over gelled hair, we should get over to those friends of Ms. Plum's."

"One thing first," he murmured, leaning in his lips captured hers. The kiss was slow and hot. By the time it ended they were clinging to each other. He rested his forehead against hers, breathing, "What you do to me, woman."

He gave her one last kiss and pulled away, getting back into the SUV. Soon enough they were over to the bonds office. He helped her out of the SUV, handing her the cane and the two made their way over to the office. Maxine looked from one woman to the other. The woman behind the desk appeared to be Italian, from the look of her and held herself with great self-assurance. That kind of assurance one grew up with, Maxine told herself. She had seen it a lot over the years. Gang? No, she thought, it was family. She'd bet money on that. She looked over to the other woman who had been filing before they had walked in. A woman that should have retired the look she was wearing after she had given up the life on the streets. The dress that was about two sizes too small that was such a bright florescent green spandex it nearly had Maxine rubbing her eyes in pain.

"Hello, I'm Maxine Soto," she murmured. "Could I bother you for a moment of your time? I've come over to ask you some questions about Stephanie Plum." They looked to each other and back over to her. Oh yeah, they know something. "Could I bother you for a chair? I may be able to keep my balance these days, but it doesn't mean the leg will put up with more than five minutes standing if it doesn't have to."

TBC…

XXX

Translations:

Mi Reina-My queen

Madre de Dios, él me quería muerta- Mother of God, he wanted me dead.

I used my Android phone for the Spanish in the story and this was double checked by my beta. But the story is my responsibility, so any mistakes in the translations are ultimately my own.

Thank you to everyone that has taken the time to read, review, and favorited/followed. This means the world to me! Thank you again and please have a wonderful day.