Chapter 19

"Babe, it's your phone."

"Mmmph," I responded and then ignored the ringing.

"It's Connie," Ranger said. "Do you want me to answer it?"

I sat up and grabbed my ringing phone from his hand. "No!" I hissed. I wasn't ready to deal with the questions I'd get if Connie found out I was with Ranger.

I pushed the connect button and said, "It's the middle of the night."

"It's 4:30 a.m." she said. "And what I have won't wait. It's The Rug."

"What?" I asked as I watched Ranger get up from the bed and head into my bathroom, closing the door behind him.

"The Rug," Connie repeated. "Simon Ruguzzi. He's in Trenton, but he's getting ready to fly out. If you want him, you're going to have to move quick."

"You're kidding! How did you find out?"

"My brother Tony was at the Alibi club and he saw him. Tony knew he was an FTA so he called me. He said a couple of guys in the bar were trying to get Ruguzzi to stay and he said he had to get home because he and Tootie were flying back to Hawaii early this morning. I've been at the computer researching flights for the last hour and I think I've got it. United has a non-stop leaving Newark at 8:05 and it's the only flight to Hawaii that leaves before noon."

I was silent for a moment, thinking. I'd been after Ruguzzi for more than three years. The payday would be huge, upwards of $40,000. I'd need help and I knew Ranger would help me, but I didn't want to ask him. Ruguzzi was the FTA that Ranger had traveled to Hawaii to help me apprehend, and that situation hadn't turned out well. I didn't want to remind him of that adventure.

"Are you still there?" Connie asked.

"Yeah," I said. "I'll need help and Lula is out of commission. Will you call Vince and have him meet me at the office in a half hour?"

"Sure thing," she said. "If I can't get him, I'll let you know."

We disconnected and I got up from bed and pulled on the jeans I'd worn yesterday and went to my closet in search of a clean shirt. I pulled one off the hanger and turned to see a very naked Ranger standing in the doorway watching me.

"Connie got a tip on a skip," I said. "He's getting ready to run so I've got to get to the airport quickly."

"Do you need help?"

"No, Connie said she called Vince."

Ranger tilted his head and stared at me for a moment and then nodded and went about the business of redressing in yesterday's clothes. He came to me as I was in the bathroom trying to control the chaos that was my hair. He was dressed and ready to leave and looked perfectly groomed and not like he had spent the night doing…what he'd been doing.

"Where are we sleeping tonight?" he asked.

"I, uh…"

"I'd prefer it to be at RangeMan," he said. "Lester will be getting in tomorrow morning and if we're there waiting, we can debrief him as soon as he's back. Then we'll have a better idea of our next step."

"Okay, sure. I might have a busy day, but I'll be there in time for dinner."

He pulled me to him and gave me a kiss I was certain was supposed to be short and sweet, but he lingered and I encouraged it. Then, abruptly he pulled back, turned and left the apartment. His day had started and I was about to start mine.

I breathed a sigh of relief after he left. I was afraid we were going to have to talk about being a couple and I wasn't ready for that. Ironic, because it's what I always thought I wanted. The phone call from Connie came at an interesting time because it made me remember the idyllic few days we'd had together in Hawaii before Joe showed up and things went seriously downhill.

Ranger had been a fabulous lover. He had been carefree and focused on me. We could have captured The Rug if we'd tried, but once we were together bond enforcement became our second priority. We spent long lazy days making love and enjoying all the resort had to offer, and never once did he mention the future or any kind of committed relationship. After the fiasco with Morelli, we were all back in Trenton and it was pretty much business as usual. I was back with Joe, and Ranger acted like Hawaii had never happened. Not the actions of a man who, just last night, said we could be a couple. Maybe Ranger had changed.

There were little signs he had changed. The grey car and regular clothing were the two most notable, and then there was his Uncle Marc saying I was prettier than Ranger had said. Ranger must be talking about me to his family! Had Ranger changed? My magic 8 ball was telling me, signs point to yes.

Before I could get too excited about that my mind flipped back to five days before when he'd romanced me into his bed after months of ignoring me to get information on Rafael. I sighed and filed that thought under later.

When I got to the bonds office Vince was parked at the curb. I parked the Macan off street behind the office and went and knocked on the window of his SUV.

"Good morning," I said as the window came down. "Thanks for coming to help. I need to run inside the office and get the paperwork on Ruguzzi out of the file. I'll need it to get past TSA, which we'll have to do to get them at their gate."

"I'll go in with you," he said. That was nice. It was kind of creepy to go into the building alone at night. I pulled out my keys and opened the door and would have forgotten to key in the alarm code had it not been for Vince.

"Thanks for the reminder," I told him.

"No problem, I'm just saving a call from the guys in the control room."

That made me wonder about the RangeMan security. "Is there camera surveillance in the office?" I asked, suddenly uneasy with the thought I could have been observed by the RangeMan team without my knowledge.

"No, just the alarm. Why? Are you worried the guys will see how many donuts and buckets of chicken you girls consume?"

"Not the guys as much as Ranger," I said with a grin. It was returned.

I pulled the original paperwork from the file. I understood Lula's filing system so I didn't waste time on the R drawer for Ruguzzi. I went directly to the T drawer for "The Rug." I shoved the papers in my bag and then realized we might have a different problem.

"Do you have licensure?" I asked.

"Sure," he said. "It's part of working for RangeMan. We're all licensed. I carry my card in my wallet."

"That's great because once again it will help us get through security at the airport."

"We've got the paperwork to get us through, but I'm not sure about our weapons," Vince said.

"I haven't got a weapon," I said. When I saw Vince's startled expression, I explained. "We won't need weapons. Ruguzzi is old but slippery. If he sees us first, he'll try and get away. If we can surprise him at the gate, he'll come with us peaceably and let his lawyers do the work to get him out."

Vince didn't look convinced, but he agreed to stow his gun in his truck at the airport and we got on the way.

We drove for a way in silence. The issue of getting a skip without weaponry must have been on Vince's mind.

"Working with you is different than working with Lula. I won't have to take your bullets away because you don't have any."

"I should be offended at that remark," I replied. "I'm not though because you're right. I know how to use my weapon and I have used it when I needed to but, in general, I dislike guns so I leave mine at home whenever possible."

"It's an unusual tactic," Vince said. "But it must work for you. I've seen your capture record. You're pretty good and you're still breathing, so you're doing something right."

I didn't respond. My mind immediately went to the times when I had close calls and Ranger had saved me. My mother was right. He'd been giving me evidence of his feelings for a long time. I didn't know what was in store for us, but I knew things were changing. Once again, I pushed the thoughts of Ranger and me to a far corner of my mind. It wasn't hard pushing the thoughts there, but dang, it was difficult getting them to stay there.

As we pulled into the airport parking, I forced myself to focus on the job at hand.

"Connie couldn't get access to the passenger list," I told Vince. "She figured out what flight they'd most likely be on, so if she's wrong this may all be for nothing. If she's right, it should be a simple capture."

Turned out, Connie was right. Vince and I got to the gate of the United flight early and we sat and watched as seat after seat in the waiting area was filled. I was starting to think we'd somehow missed them when Vince mentioned they were probably in the first-class lounge waiting until the last minute to board. He left me for a few moments and came back with a smile on his face.

"I showed the gate attendant my ID and asked if they were on the flight. She readily looked at her list and said they were," he said.

"I can't believe she voluntarily gave you their information," I said.

Again, Vince gave me a big smile. "She gave me their names and her phone number in case I needed any more information," he said. He looked pleased with himself.

"Wow, you must have bathed in the same charisma pool as Lester," I said, and I immediately regretted it. It was Lester's charisma and chemistry with Vince's sister that had gotten Vince in the situation he was now in.

It turned out not to be a problem though because at that exact moment I spotted the Ruguzzis.

"There they are," I said. Tootie Ruguzzi was short and plump and was wearing gold bangle bracelets halfway to her elbows on each arm. She wore a flowered Muumuu and gold sparkly sandals. She looked like she was ready for her lei greeting. Her husband walked slightly behind her, slim and upright in a grey suit complete with vest and a pocket square. They looked entirely mismatched, but his arm was around her shoulders and they seemed to be a happy if odd couple.

I rose from my chair and stepped in front of them as they made their way to the waiting area.

"Mr. Ruguzzi, I'm Stephanie Plum. I work for Plum Bail Bonds. You're in violation of your bond agreement and I need you to come with me to get rebonded."

I heard him sigh and saw his gaze flicker over my shoulder to Vince who was standing silently behind me. Ruguzzi's shoulders slumped slightly and I did a mental fist pump.

Ruguzzi leaned down to his wife who was looking very concerned. "You'll have to go alone, dear. This will take a bit of time, but I'll join you soon. Probably tomorrow."

He turned to me, "If you'll excuse me for a moment, I'll get my wife settled and then I'll come with you. I need to make a call to ascertain my wife will be properly settled at her destination and then I need to call my attorney. Will you give me five minutes?"

I nodded. He'd do exactly as he said. He was a ruthless assassin, but his manner was formal and somehow, I knew he would honor his word.

An hour and a half later I was once again sitting in Vince's SUV with a body receipt in my hand. It was a huge payday and for once I wasn't in a financial crisis. I might be able to save it and be prepared for the next crisis. My past life experience told me there'd be one.

As we pulled out of the Trenton PD lot, I called Joe.

"Cupcake?" he answered. I wanted to say I wasn't his cupcake, but he already knew that. Old habits die hard, so I ignored the greeting.

"Hi. I thought you'd be interested to know I just brought The Rug in."

"That'll help your bank account," he said. "Where'd you get him?"

"At the airport, getting ready to fly back to Hawaii," I said. "You don't seem surprised."

"I'm a little surprised you got a lead on him and got the capture," he said. "I'm not surprised he's in town. There was a professional hit last night and it had his MO all over it. Thanks for letting me know."

"No problem," I said. "Sorry for calling so early on a weekend."

"It's okay. I was up getting ready for Mass."

"You're going to Mass?" I asked. Joe never went to Mass.

"Yeah, I've been going every week. You should try it."

We disconnected and I sat in stunned silence as Vince drove back to the bonds office.

"That was Joe Morelli," I told Vince. "He was the primary on the case when Ruguzzi was originally arrested. I thought he'd want to know we got him."

"True," Vince said. "Probably he'd been alerted that Ruguzzi was back in custody, but maybe you wanted him to know you were responsible for that."

I looked over at Vince to see a teasing smile on his face. I was really starting to like this guy. I hoped he'd get his personal demons under control and be back with the boys soon.

"True," I shot back at him. "I did get him, but the fact that you were standing behind me helped a lot. I'll take the body receipt and drop it off with Connie tomorrow. Half of it is yours."

"Didn't you say you usually split your recovery checks with Lula?" he asked.

"Yeah. Sometimes I give her ten percent. Sometimes twenty-five if she was really involved," I said.

"That's nice of you. I'll tell you what. I don't want fifty percent. Have Connie make out a check to you for seventy-five percent and give the other quarter to Lula."

"It's your money," I insisted. "And you deserve half."

"I'm on the RangeMan payroll. I'm not really moonlighting. I won't take the money," he said.

He sounded like he meant it and he'd said earlier on that he wouldn't take the money, so I relented. "Okay, if you're sure. It's going to be a heck of a surprise to Lula." I thought Lula was half in love with Vince after the Louboutin sneakers. This might send her over the edge.

Vince and I parted company at the bonds office, and I headed home to shower and take a nap. When I awoke, I realized I could make it to my mom's in time for Sunday dinner. I wasn't complaining about the cake I'd had the night before, but I knew there'd be a full meal today, so I headed over.

This time Grandma was standing at the door. She welcomed me in.

"Helen," she called. "Stephanie's here."

My mom came out of the kitchen wiping her hands on her apron. "Stephanie! Are you staying for lunch?"

"Sure," I replied. "I made an early morning capture at the airport in Newark. I didn't get any breakfast and I'm starving."

"We've got plenty," my mother said needlessly. She always had plenty. "We're having pot roast. I know it's not our usual Sunday fare, but since everyone was busy last night, I thought I'd serve it today."

"You won't believe who we saw at Mass today," Grandma said.

"Joe Morelli," I responded.

"That's right! How'd you know?"

"The skip I picked up at the airport was Simon Ruguzzi," I said. "I called Joe to let him know since he'd been the primary on the original case. I apologized for calling so early, but he told me he was already up and getting ready for Mass. I don't know what's gotten into him. He never used to go to Mass."

"I know," Grandma said. "He's dating that cute little Elizabeth Wilson. Do you know her?"

"I don't think I do," I said.

"Oh, sure you do," Grandma insisted. "She's Marie Wilson's daughter. She's a young one, only twenty-four, and she just got out of three years in the convent. She decided being a nun wasn't for her."

Joe Morelli was dating an ex-nun. I shook my head and looked across the room to see my mother giving me a concerned look. She left the room and returned with a suspiciously amber glass of tea.

"Would you like some iced tea with your dinner, Stephanie?" she asked.

I nodded. "Yes, I think I would."