Chapter 7

Stephanie walked into Ranger's room and took an assessment of it. It was masculine and homey at the same time. The furniture and coloring read "alpha male," but the soft linens and calming accents said home. She felt that Ella had something to do with that. He had a queen-sized platform bed made from mahogany. The end tables and dresser look like pieces of wood carved separately and added to the front. There was a large, rectangular mirror over the dresser. On the wall above the bed was a forest landscape at sundown, and there were nature accents around the room. The bedding was beige with darker brown and gold stripes and patterns. The sheets were tan and soft as silk.

She sat on the bench at the foot of the bed to search for her cell phone and saw a few messages for Morelli. She didn't want to read them before bed, so she ignored them. Then, she pulled out her charger. As she looked up, she saw Ranger standing in the doorway.

"Damn it, make some noise, please; you nearly gave me a heart attack," Stephanie said, holding her hand to her heart.

"I'm sorry. I realized I needed to get the spare blanket and pillow for the couch and to use the restroom myself. I didn't mean to startle you."

"That's okay. Um, where can I charge this?"

Ranger took her phone, noticing it was an Android. Good, he had an Android as well. He plugged the phone into the charger on his nightstand. "I have another charger in the living room and my office for my phone, so this is fine."

"Thanks."

"I'll be out of the bathroom and here in about five minutes. I typically go to the gym at oh five hundred. I'll shower and dress in the locker room so you can have the bathroom yourself. Before you object, I do that often. I'll come up for breakfast at six-thirty, then we'll go down for the meeting. I will get you a fob so you can maneuver around the building freely tomorrow morning. Hector is getting it ready for you."

"Okay. Thank you for everything. I know you dropped everything you were doing to help me, and I appreciate it."

"It's not a problem. I'm enjoying spending time with you. It's not a hardship at all."

Shit, Manoso, what the fuck are you saying? Since when do you have verbal diarrhea? Ranger thought.

Stephanie, meanwhile, couldn't help but agree with Ranger's statement. She felt she'd known him forever, not just a few hours.

"Well, I'm going to bed. Don't worry about waking me. I sleep like the dead. I once slept through a hurricane, with the wind howling and trees falling around the house."

"Okay. Night, Babe."

"Good night once again, Carlos."

Stephanie climbed into Ranger's bed as he entered his bathroom. She pulled the luxurious sheets and covers over her body and promptly fell asleep, inhaling the delicious scent of Ranger on his pillow.

Ranger, meanwhile, turned on the water and got in the shower. When he removed his pants, his dick was hard and needed attention. He knew he had to relieve himself or couldn't sleep. He put a generous amount of soap in his hand and started to stroke himself, imagining his dick buried inside the woman, asleep alone in his bed. Soon, he had his orgasm and efficiently cleaned himself. He towel dried and put on his tank top and silk boxers. Though he usually slept nude, he wouldn't do so while guarding Stephanie Plum. Placing his hair in a ponytail, he brushed his teeth and snuck back to the living room. However, he could not help but see Stephanie lying in his bed and wished he was beside her.

He sat on his couch, set his alarm, and laid down with impure thoughts of Stephanie Plum running through his mind.

Stephanie woke up with her alarm at six. At first, she was confused about where she was, then she remembered. She stretched and got up, ready to get her day started. She entered the bathroom and took care of nature before she saw a note taped to the mirror.

Stephanie,

I am in the gym and will get ready like we discussed last night. I will join you at 6:30 for breakfast. The team briefing will be at 7. A robe and your clothes are on the bench at the foot of my bed. If you need anything, you can dial 6001 for Ella, and she will bring it up to you. She can also order supplies and have them shipped to Chicago. She often does that for me and Lester. Don't worry about the bed, Ella will clean the apartment later today, and yes, she always fixes my bed. I get yelled at if I do it. See you soon.

Carlos

Stephanie smiled at the note and wondered what having an admin as efficient as Ella would be like. She entered the bedroom and found her clothes and the softest robe ever. She decided to wear the robe and dress after breakfast. In the meantime, she fixed her hair, which was cooperative for a change, and applied the mascara, rouge, and lip gloss she always carried in her purse. That light makeup will have to do until she can get the rest. As she finished applying the last coat of mascara, she heard Carlos enter.

"Babe, I'm back," he called from the entrance, not wanting to startle her again. "I have our breakfast."

Stephanie made sure the robe was tied and walked to the dining room. She sat down when Ranger pulled the chair out for her. "Are you almost ready?"

"Yes, I just need to get dressed, and that will take about three minutes. I inevitably spill something on my shirt, so I prefer not to dress until the last moment."

Ranger nodded and let Stephanie choose the bagel. She picked a cinnamon raisin and placed some cream cheese on it. In addition, she took a few pieces of melon. They ate in companionable silence, absent of the moans he heard the night before.

"Did you sleep well last night," Ranger asked.

"I did. You have the most fabulous bedding. I need to upgrade my linens. What about you?"

"I slept well, too," Ranger said, though his dreams were filled with images of the woman sitting across from him.

"Again, I'm sorry you had to sleep on the couch."

"It's not a problem." Ranger glanced at his watch. "we have to be downstairs in ten minutes, so you better finish getting ready."

Stephanie got up and went to Ranger, kissing him on the cheek. "Thank you for being so thoughtful. I appreciate you listening to me and respecting my feelings."

She sashayed back to Ranger's room, and he was left baffled. That peck on the cheek left him wanting so much more, and he questioned if she felt the same way. Sometimes it felt like they were on a date, but it would turn professional. Maybe he needed to reevaluate if he should be her main bodyguard. He knew that if their relationship turned sexual and personal, that could be dangerous for them both.

Stephanie, meanwhile, was bewildered by why she felt the urge to kiss Ranger. Granted, it was something platonic, not sexual, but she wasn't one to do that normally. Especially with men she had only just met. Then again, she wore his shirt, showered in his bathroom, and slept in his bed. She couldn't help feeling that if they met under different circumstances, they could be more than friends, maybe even lovers.

Stephanie wore her jeans and t-shirt from yesterday and fluffed her hair a final time before spritzing some perfume. She walked into the living and gathered her boots to put them on. Once done, she and Ranger walked out of the apartment into the elevator.

"This building is seven floors. As you gathered, I live on the seventh floor. Ella and Luis, along with Lester and Bobby, have apartments on the sixth floor. Tank has a home nearby. The fifth floor is our base of operations, with the third and fourth floors housing the apartments for my men. The second floor holds supply rooms, storage, and offices for our bookkeepers, accountants, and lawyers who work here once or twice weekly. We also have a gym on the second floor. There's a gun range and holding cells in the basement. Hector will give you a fob with access to the garage and the second, fifth, and seventh floors. We have no woman's locker room, so if you used the gym, you'd have to use my apartment to shower."

At that moment, the elevator opened on the fifth floor, and Ranger guided Stephanie with his hand on her lower back. He led her to one of the conference rooms. Five men were already sitting around the table, with pictures and papers on boards around the room's perimeter. When Ranger entered, all talking ceased, and everyone sat down.

"Good morning, gentleman. This is Stephanie Plum, the President's daughter. The President and I feel it is in Stephanie's best interest to be in the loop so that she will attend our briefings. Let's take a moment and introduce ourselves before we start."

The man to Ranger's left started, and I recognized him from last night. "Lester Santos, the best-looking guy here."

Lester's remarks were met with laughter. Next to Lester was a bulky, white male with red hair cut crew short with green eyes. "Noah Ramsey, but please call me Ram, Ma'am."

"John Woodrow, but I go by Woody," said the next man, who was muscular but slim, with sandy brown hair and brown eyes."

"Bobby Brown, as you know. How's the wrist?"

"Much better, thank you."

"Glad to hear."

"And I hope you remember me, Ma'am. Tank," he said as he held out his hand. Stephanie shook his hand and smiled at the men.

"Thank you for agreeing to help me. I appreciate it."

"No problem, Ma'am," said Woody.

"Please, call me Stephanie or Steph."

"What did we discover?" asked Ranger.

Lester spoke first. "The letters all seem to be written by the same person, as the spelling and grammar are consistent. They were postmarked from various cities, and no pattern can be discerned. We checked the cities with Stephanie's and the President's travel, and there are no overlaps within three weeks."

"The pictures were taken with a cell phone camera. The resolution is excellent, so a newer model, Android or iPhone. We don't think that the suspect was in Stephanie's apartment. Instead, it looks like it could be photoshopped, but he does have good skills. They fooled both the FBI and the SS," Woody added.

Ram continued, "No other explosives were found in her apartment or the building. The device was more noisy and smokey than anything else and wouldn't have caused harm to Stephanie other than to scare her."

"In the examination of Stephanie's apartment, we did not find any evidence of bugs, cameras, or other electronic devices, so he does not seem to be monitoring her too closely," Tank said.

"Do we have any suspects?" Ranger asked.

"Well, at first, we thought it could be an SS agent, but we don't think that is the case given what we discovered and how unsophisticated the surveillance is. We haven't ruled out a woman yet. We don't have any suspects yet. We'll need another few days to examine all the evidence," said Lester.

"Until we learn more information, Stephanie and I will use the Rangeman jet. Santos, you are with us in Chicago and Los Angles. Marco will take over in Miami when we return to DC. The investigation is Code Red. No one outside of this room, Hector, the President, Chief of Staff Juniak, and Agent Torres from the FBI, is to be informed of any aspect of our investigation. Make sure Agent Morelli is kept completely in the dark. From now on, Rangeman will secure all hotels and arrange all appointments. If more men are needed, you will be called in. Are we clear?"

"Yes, Sir," the men responded.

Ranger then looked at Stephanie, "Does that work for you?"

"Yes, thank you for asking."

"Keep up the good work. We are heading to Chicago with two appointments for today. Let me know if you find out anything," Ranger said as he stood. Stephanie followed suit. They left the conference room and walked to Ranger's office. Once inside, Ranger closed the door.

"We have about thirty minutes before we need to leave. I'd like to take you to the gun range to see if you can shoot. I know you don't like guns, but I think you should carry one. And yes, you need to have it loaded. I will work in time to train you in self-defense and on the range as we set our itinerary, but until then, a gun is the best way to defend yourself."

Stephanie sighed but remembered that this man kept his word by allowing her to hear the update. He treated her respectfully, and she needed to respect his wishes.

"Okay. I'm not comfortable, but I understand why this is necessary."

Ranger grabbed a few items from his desk, along with a laptop. They then proceeded to the gun range. Ranger selected two guns for Stephanie to try and then showed her how to load and use the weapons. He brought her to the lane once she proved she knew what to do. With safety gear on, Stephanie shot the bull's eye and did a decent job hitting the target.

"Not bad, Babe. With a little training, you will be a great shot. That's a good thing, especially for you. The better your aim, the easier it will be to shoot to injure instead of shooting to kill."

Stephanie was glad she was naturally a decent shot but still was not thrilled to use a gun. "Thanks. Let me guess; I have to carry this starting now."

"Yes, Stephanie. I know you don't like it, but it is for your protection." After grabbing some ammunition and two holsters, they left the range and moved to the garage. Lester was waiting outside one of many black SUVs that Rangeman had. He opened the back door for Stephanie and closed it after she climbed in. Once she was secured, Ranger entered the SUV.

"This SUV has bullet-resistant windows, and we will employ similar vehicles wherever possible. They provide us with time to get to safety during a threat. Lester will be our driver on the first leg of the trip. Please note that when we are in the open and acting as bodyguards, our interactions will be different and more distant. It is for your protection. We need to keep you safe and will do what we can. We will not linger outside buildings or in the open. Instead, we will move quickly to a secure area. If we suddenly switch paths, don't argue and follow. We will keep you safe."

"I understand."

Ranger wore his dark aviator sunglasses and started surveillance as Lester drove to the airport. When they arrived, they quickly moved Stephanie aboard the jet and told Ace, one of Rangeman's pilots out of Boston, to take off when cleared.

Stephanie was in awe when she saw the interior of the jet. A few tables were set up with benches on either side for them to eat or discuss information, a large television that she assumed could be used for a conference call, and several comfortable, reclining seats set in rows. It was almost as lovely as Air Force One.

"Stephanie, this is Ace. He works out of our Boston offices and is one of our pilots. He is a former Airforce pilot and instructor."

"It's an honor, Ma'am," Ace says. He's about 5'10" with an athletic build. Not as muscular as Ranger or Lester. He's also a little older, maybe in his mid-forties. He has blonde hair with a slightly receding hairline and blue eyes.

"We are cleared for take-off in about twenty, Sir."

"That's perfect."

As Ace went to the cockpit, Stephanie settled at one of the tables. She had to contact her father to review their notes before her meetings. She got her notebook out and reviewed what they had discussed yesterday. She pulled up her email, looking at the results from the most recent poll and seeing the direction they needed to move in.

Ranger sat across from her, marveling at how she focused on her work. He saw her cross out some of her notes and rewrite her points. He never saw someone's mind work that fast or efficiently.

"Will I be able to talk to my father?"

"Yes, once we're in the air, you can make and receive calls."

"Great. Thank you. This so beats traveling commercially."

"Yes, there are benefits, including keeping our weapons on our person."

Stephanie rolled her eyes but smiled. Men and their toys.