Chapter 8

I woke up briefly in the middle of the night to feel Ranger's arms tighten around me as I scooted closer to him. When I woke up again, just like the last time I'd spent the night in bed with him, I was alone. This wasn't like the last time though. We hadn't made love, and I knew he was gone from my apartment. There would be no early morning confrontation with him. He was going to spare me that embarrassment. I'd told him everything, under the cover of darkness, hiding in his embrace with my face buried in his chest.

I'd sobbed and slobbered all over him, and his arms had remained steadfastly around me. He said he would be my courage and he had been. I told him everything starting with the videotape Rafael had made without my knowledge and ending with the way he'd used it to blackmail me into sexual acts that I found in the beginning, humiliating and at the end, degrading and abusive.

I told him how I'd felt confident that Rafael would never make the connection between Stephanie Orr and Stephanie Plum. I told him of my chance meeting in the courthouse with Rafael and how he'd insisted he'd be seeing me soon.

What I said after that was a blur, but I remembered through it all Ranger had quietly listened and let me have my meltdown. And now he was gone, but instead of being upset at that, I was grateful. It was one thing to make a fool of myself with a bottle of wine onboard, and another thing entirely to make a fool of myself the morning after.

I stretched out in bed, knowing that I needed to get up, but dreading it. My head was pounding and my stomach was gurgling ominously. I knew my hangover symptoms would accelerate the moment I was vertical. I was not a good drinker, and I didn't usually overindulge, but last night had been an aberration. I took a slow deep breath to calm my stomach and my eyes opened wide. I smelled french fries!

On my nightstand was a cup of ice-cold Coke and next to the Coke was a small McDonalds sack. I reached out and grabbed the sack pleased to find it was still warm. The note fluttered to the floor, forgotten for the moment.

A few minutes later when the fries were history, I looked down to see a slip of paper next to my running shoes which had been in my closet the night before. The note was short and, in typical Ranger fashion, sounded like it came from someone used to being in charge:

Go for a run even if you don't want to, and then go to work. Come to RangeMan for dinner. Be prepared to stay for a few days and for some nighttime surveillance work. I'll explain it all tonight. R.

Nighttime surveillance. Did he mean spy on Rafael? I said I needed his help, but my heart raced at the thought. And be prepared to stay? His note left more questions than answers.

If there was a way out of this mess, Ranger would be the one to get me out of it, but I couldn't shake the thought that in helping me, he was really helping himself. The man who had been so distant was now inviting me into his lair. Of course, his goal was to put Rafael Acosta out of business, and he thought I could help. I wasn't so sure I could be helpful, but Ranger was my best option to keep my indiscretion from showing up on You Tube.

I hoped I'd survive, emotionally. I reread his note. Was there ever any doubt I'd do as he said? He was right in that I didn't want to run, but I followed his instructions and ran anyway. Surprisingly, I returned feeling better than I had since I'd learned Rafael was back.

Ninety minutes, two miles and a shower later I pulled into an empty space in front of the bonds office. As I got out of my car, I noticed a familiar SUV parked across the street. It looked exactly like the one that had given me a ride home a day ago, so I wasn't surprised when Vince slid out from behind the wheel and walked toward me.

"Hey," I said.

"Hey," he replied. "Ranger sent me." He was wearing well-worn jeans and a faded chambray shirt and looked nothing like the RangeMan operative I was used to seeing.

"Unless you're undercover, you're not working for Ranger," I said. I tugged the sleeve of his shirt to emphasize my point.

"I am working," he said, "just not for Ranger. I'm on paid administrative leave for the next couple of weeks. I'll be doing some intensive outpatient therapy for anger management." He flushed as he said the words.

"That's great," I said. "When you've completed the therapy will you go back to work at RangeMan?"

"That's the plan. Until then I'm working part-time here. Ranger arranged it. He said your availability for Vinnie would be limited for the next couple of weeks, and I could help out. It makes me feel better to be doing something rather than just sitting at home drawing a paycheck."

"You're working here?" I asked, surprise making my voice squeak. "And what do you mean, I won't be available?"

"Ranger said you'd be helping him on some surveillance and distraction job that might end up being time-consuming. He didn't tell you?" Vince flushed again and I realized he was worried that he'd somehow shared news Ranger hadn't wanted shared.

"Oh, he told me," I assured him. "He just didn't share any of the details. He'll probably let me know tonight. He said we'd be doing surveillance."

Our conversation was interrupted by a knock on the window behind us and I turned to see Lula motioning us inside. I saw Vince frown and I laughed. "If you're working for me the next couple of weeks, then Lula is your wingman, and it looks like she's anxious to get started."

"My wingman? I don't know…"

I pulled the door open and motioned for him to walk inside. He shook his head and used a big meaty hand at the small of my back to usher me in first.

"Chicken!" I said.

Connie looked up from her desk. "Nice to see you, Vince," she said. "Nice to see you too, Stephanie. Ranger said you'd be hit or miss here for the next couple of weeks." I could tell she was burning up with curiosity.

"Ranger has apparently been saying a lot," I said. "Only he hasn't said it to me. I guess I'll find out the details later tonight. He said we'd be doing surveillance. You've got me for the day, though. I need to do some computer work to find Alvin Arledge. He's my last skip."

"Not hardly," Connie said. "It's a good thing we have Vince to help. There were five failure-to-appears yesterday."

"Five!" I exclaimed.

"Yeah," Lula said. "It was a full moon yesterday and you know what kinda crazy that causes."

"Yeah," I said in agreement knowing the moon wasn't responsible for my crazy day.

"And you don't need to worry about Alvin," Lula said. "Connie got some good intel on him."

That was good news. Alvin wasn't a Burgster, being raised just outside the Burg boundaries, but he was local with lots of family. Family that would hide him and make his capture a pain in the butt.

"What did you find on Alvin?" I asked.

"I didn't find anything," Connie said laughing. "He pissed his brother off and his brother called me and gave me Alvin's itinerary for the day." She handed me a slip of paper with scribbled notes regarding Alvin's location.

"This is great," I said. "Do you think we can trust it?"

"Oh, yeah, we can," Lula said. "Alvin got caught with his brother's woman and brother didn't take it well. He called Connie to get revenge. Guess he wants to eliminate his competition when we take Alvin back to jail."

I looked quickly at Vince who had been quietly listening to the conversation. I wondered if this scenario cut a little too close to his personal situation, but he appeared calm.

I read Connie's scribbled note again. "It looks like we can find him at his Momma's house this morning, which is only a few blocks away. I need to make a phone call and then I'll be ready to roll."

"Huh, who you rollin' with?" Lula asked. "You're not planning on leaving me behind, are you?"

"No way," Vince said with what appeared to be a sincere smile. "Stephanie's going to be working some for Ranger, so it looks like you and I will be partners. I think we should get used to working together from the beginning."

"You're a smart man," Lula said.

I stepped outside and went around the side of the building into the alley and called Ranger.

"I hear from Vince that I'm going to be working for you for the next couple of weeks. What's going on? Why didn't you tell me?"

"You said you were in trouble," he replied. "You said you needed my help and I'm giving it to you, and I didn't tell you because you were…unconscious."

"Oh." Yeah, there was that.

"There's a lot of background information on Acosta that you're unaware of. I'm busy all day. Meet me tonight at my apartment and we'll have dinner. Come prepared to stay at RangeMan for a while. It's the best way to keep you off Acosta's radar. After dinner we'll talk. There's more for both of us to say."

"More of what?" I asked.

"More of your story," he said. "Before you say you've told me everything, we both know there's more. I've been following Acosta's movements since he left Trenton after the murder. You need to know your enemy before you bring him down. My apartment at six." He disconnected.

I stood looking at my phone for a few seconds. My enemy? Bring him down? Ranger made it sound like I was preparing for war. Then I thought about the video and knew what damage it could do. I guess it would be war. Then there was the other thing. I'd be staying at RangeMan for a while. He hadn't said I'd be staying on seven. Maybe I'd be bunking on the fourth floor. That would be the smart thing.

I slid my phone into my messenger bag and went back inside to attend to the matter at hand. Alvin Arledge.

We took Vince's SUV as it was the only vehicle that would carry three bounty hunters and an FTA. The plan was simple. Lula and Vince would take the front door. We weren't expecting any problems, because he was visiting his mother, and even the baddest of guys don't like to put their moms in danger. I would cover the back door in case he tried to escape down the alley. This wasn't likely as Alvin was a large man and didn't typically run away from his captors. He usually shot at them. Another good reason for me to take the back door. Both Vince and Lula had bullets in their guns.

I stood in the alley behind the Arledge house and half hid behind the garage. I assumed the action would be out front, so I was surprised to see Alvin tiptoe out the back door and make his way quietly toward the garage—and me. I drew back, but before I could formulate a plan, I heard Vince's voice ring out authoritatively.

"Freeze! Bond enforcement." Then with unexpected speed, considering his size, Alvin swiveled and leveled a gun at Vince. They stood there, arms extended, weapons aimed, legs spread, like two modern day cowboys in a gunfight. I was now directly behind him and I didn't think he'd seen me. The air quieted and I held my breath waiting for whatever happened next.

What happened next was Lula, cautiously making her way into the backyard from the other side of the house. Her gun was in her hand at her side and her eyes were steadily on the ground making sure she didn't break a heel off her knock-off Louboutin's by tripping on a clod of dirt. I knew this because we'd been in similar scenarios too many times to count.

I saw Alvin's outstretched arm waver slightly between Vince and Lula, and without thinking I moved closer. In a move worthy of an NFL place kicker, I planted my foot from behind deeply into the V of Alvin's jeans. It was the adrenaline probably, but I think I lifted him off the ground. He dropped the gun and collapsed, writhing in pain. Forgetting her shoes, Lula ran forward and seat-dropped onto him. I heard a whoosh of air as Alvin lost his breath. She turned and looked at Vince who was watching with wide eyes.

"Cuff him, Stephanie," Lula said.

"I've only got zip ties," I said. "I think I left my cuffs at home." I was embarrassed. Alvin was large enough that using zip ties was going to be difficult.

"I've got a pair," Vince said.

I watched as he efficiently cuffed and hauled a moaning and sweating Alvin to his feet. Vince turned to me and still wide-eyed, gave me a smile. Not Ranger's two-hundred-watt variety, but a good smile, nonetheless.

"Fan of the nutcracker ballet, Stephanie?" he asked, with an ever-widening grin.

"Whatever works," I replied.

"Whatever works," he agreed. Part of me wished the take down had been executed more professionally, but I gave a mental shrug and let it go. It had worked, after all. Days later, I looked back on that moment and was glad things had gone exactly as they did.