Chapter 1

The name that I go by is Annie Michaels. I'm 34 years old, have brown curly hair and blue eyes. Surprisingly, I'm well toned so have a body that I'm really proud of. Wasn't easy and it came at a cost. Yeah, the rationing of all the foods that I used to enjoy so much. Am I happy? I'm not unhappy but I take each day as it comes and try to be positive with what I accomplish.

I now live in an apartment over the garage of my new boss. It's not as bad as it sounds because that garage is huge. I have an open plan kitchen and lounge area, a large bedroom with attached bathroom and an additional room that I use as an office. I like it, it's cozy without being small and quirky without being outrageous. Certainly, an improvement on my last apartment with no hideous bathroom to have to look at.

So you may be asking what the hell I'm doing here? A question I ask myself at least a couple of times a week. I've been here four weeks now, yet I feel as though it's been months. Basically, things in Trenton changed around me, and I realized that I needed to change as well, life was moving on without me.

I made enough money in my job as a bounty hunter to keep my head above water, just. Though being able to scrounge meals at my parent's and have my laundry done for me certainly helped. Whilst I was my own boss, I worked long hours and it wasn't always enjoyable. There were times when I got a kick out of finding someone or if my FTA cooperated and went quietly with me to the police station. More often than not though I ended up chasing skips or them throwing food at me. There were even occasions when I'd be attacked, or my car was vandalized. Not that any of those things deterred me from doing my job. I always got my man or woman.

I suppose the most positive aspect of my job was that it had brought me closer to Ranger. My mentor and friend and eventual lover. He was sexy and mysterious rolled into a package that was irresistible. I certainly found him hard to resist. He was my friend first though, and would always help me out when I got myself in too deep. The problem was that I found myself being drawn to him like a moth to a flame. I knew that if I got too close then I'd get burnt, badly. Ranger was CEO of a very successful security company, but he was also a badass bounty hunter and often disappeared for months at a time on some secret mission for the government. Yeah, not exactly relationship material, which was what he was constantly telling me. Didn't stop me from falling slowly in love with him though.

Anyway, just to make my life more complicated I also had a boyfriend. Well sort of. The problem there was that we spent more time fighting. Our on and off relationship was chaotic. Yet I still loved Joe, though not enough to ever settle down and marry him. According to my mother he was my last chance for a husband and the father of children. Yuk. As if that was going to happen. He may have had a good job as a detective with the police department and his own house that he inherited from his aunt but that wasn't enough for me.

It was strange how the changes around me all happened at the same time. Joe and I seemed to be getting on well, with no arguments. I think we both realized at the same time that we were just never meant to be anything but good friends. Well, friends with benefits. Neither of us was prepared to compromise to make a relationship progress any further. I wasn't about to give up my job and become a stay at home mum and Joe wasn't going to stop the nights out with the guys or limit his family's influence. That was his excuse for the times that he was unavailable. I suppose in the back of my mind I'd always wondered just how faithful he was to me. My guilty conscience would never let me have that particular argument with him because I knew that in so many ways, I'd betrayed him with the way that I would allow Ranger to take advantage of me.

After a particularly stressful week when we hadn't really connected, Joe and I had sat down to discuss our relationship. Yeah, the two of us were suddenly being all grown up about it. Surprisingly we agreed that there was no real commitment from either of us, certainly not that forever type needed between two people who wanted to get married and live happily ever after. There was so much history between us and we both cared for the other so I'd left Joe's house with an agreement that we'd remain friends and look out for each other. Surprisingly that's worked out well and we get on better than we ever did before. So that was the first thing to change. The end of Joe Morelli and me.

The second thing to change was more subtle than that. Hell, I didn't really see it happening. My job had been going reasonably smoothly which had been a relief after the whole saga with that coin and men intent on kidnapping people. That meant that I had no need to put up the bat sign for any help. Ranger became more distanced. He wasn't at the bonds office as often or asking me to do jobs at Rangeman. I suppose that while I'd been with Morelli, he'd maybe decided that his advances weren't being reciprocated. He'd once said that if my bed was empty then he'd be there. But he wasn't. There were no middle of the night visits from him. I began to miss him, and I became really worried. Was it me? Had I done something wrong? Was the fact that Morelli was no longer a contender for my affections sufficient for him to realize that he no longer wanted to be bothered with a white girl from the Burg. Then out of the blue he'd been waiting for me in the parking lot outside of my apartment building one evening.

As I'd got out of my POS car he had ambled over to hold the door open for me. Noy having seen him for so long had my hormones going into overdrive. At last he was here to see me, dressed as usual in his Rangeman black.

"Have to leave town Babe"

Was all that he said as I stood leant against the car and I was devastated at hearing that. Had he decided that he no longer needed to be here in Trenton?

"One of the other offices?"

I'd asked regretting straight away what if his answer might be. If he confirmed that then I'd know that my best friend and mentor was pulling away from me.

"No, a job, Babe"

He was going in the wind. A name that I used when he would disappear for weeks in order to fulfil his contract with the government. Was that any better? Of course, I knew that he would never tell me anything about where or why he was going, but I had to ask just the one question.

"How long?"

"Six months, probably longer"

I'd been lost for what to say. Longer than six months seemed such a long time. I didn't get the opportunity to say anymore because he was suddenly walking away from me, without even a goodbye kiss. That had only confirmed my worst fears. He'd lost interest in me.

So suddenly from having two men in my life I had none. Of course, my mother decided that she just had to help me to find an eligible bachelor. Each time that I went for dinner at my parents some random guy would turn up. She should have set up her own dating agency. Grandma reckoned that she had a list of men on speed dial, just waiting for me to turn up for dinner. Of course, my dad was no help. He would ignore everyone at the table and just nod his head when my mother asked if he approved of her latest suitor. That she refused to listen to me and stop her constant manipulation resulted in the third change in my life. I stopped going to my parents for dinner.

Mary Lou, my best friend from school, and someone who I had always relied on for talking with or going out for a girl's night out. Well, she up and moved. Seemed that business for her husband Lenny wasn't doing too well in Trenton, so they made the decision to move to Pittsburg where business was booming. Pittsburg, for crying out loud. Could anything else have happened around me? I didn't think that it could but it's me we're talking about here.

My boss Vinnie, who somewhere along the line is related, wasn't being good at keeping the business kosher. His father in law, who basically owned the bail bonds business decided that Vinnie just wasn't capable of running things. Okay, so maybe Vinnie spent more time with Joyce in his office, or browsing the internet for porn, but I had always thought that he'd been pretty savvy as a bail bond agent. Harry brought in a new office manager. Oh boy. Connie the existing office manager, another friend that I got on really well with, told Harry exactly what he could do with that. No way was she going to be working underneath the new man. I'd tried. Honestly, I had. But he was rude and the people that he was bonding out were higher bonds and way beyond my level of expertise. Okay, so maybe my skills weren't that brilliant.

Even Rangeman refused to renew their contract with the company, citing that the type of people they were expected to find were too much trouble for too little money. Yeah, you guessed. The new contract had their percentage take reduced. The result for me was that I rarely saw any of the men who worked at Rangeman, another avenue and part of my life that had changed. Then as if nothing could get any worse it did. Rex my roommate and constant companion died whilst I was out working. That had me crying for the rest of the evening. He'd been with me for years, never complaining about his surroundings or the constant visitors that would invade my home. Yeah, I'd been devastated as I buried my little friend in amongst the bushes by my apartment building.

Within a month everything had changed, and I realized that I had to do something before I went mad. I also decided that I wasn't bothered if I left Trenton. I had no one to stay for anymore. It was actually Joe who pointed out the job advert for a PI here in Braintree. Braintree, was that a real place? I hadn't been very optimistic so hadn't really done any research on the area. Joe helped me with my application, for once actually highlighting my strengths as he saw them. Now why couldn't he have been more supportive when we were a couple? I suppose he thought that if he criticized me enough about my job and how pathetic I was at it then I'd have packed it in and married him. Wow, that was a close call.

So, I'm now employed as a Private Investigator for a man called Jonas Penderton. Go me. How did I manage that? Well, I can honestly say that Joe was the one who pushed me. When I was invited for an interview, he spent hours with me going over aspects of my job as a bounty hunter that were well suited to being a PI. Hell, he even gave me homework to do and compiled a list of questions for me to ask them. I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for him.

Did I have any regrets about leaving Trenton? No, okay, maybe at saying goodbye to my grandma. Who am I kidding. I eventually plucked up enough courage to call at Rangeman. Boy, that was a mistake. My fob hadn't worked so I'd had to park on the street and enter through the reception. No Ranger, Tank, Les or Bobby and the man at reception was new so hadn't a clue who I was. I left that building feeling so annoyed. Anger was the only feeling that I'd allow myself to feel. Had I not being about to embark on a new chapter of my life I think that I would have curled up in a corner of my apartment and cried, or even died. Yeah, that's how upset I was.

I think that my mum realized exactly what she'd done and tried her usual baking tricks to make me change my mind. It wasn't happening. I was so excited to be moving, no amount of cake would have stopped me. The only weird side to my whole employment was Mr Penderton's insistence that I wasn't to be known as Stephanie Plum. Okay, so maybe it wasn't weird. He'd explained he didn't want to have any clients doing a search on who I was and discovering that I was Trenton's Bombshell Bounty Hunter. I could understand his logic.

From my perspective it also meant that I didn't want anyone knowing where I was going or what my new job was. No way did I want anyone following me up to Braintree, especially not my mother. I wanted all ties to Trenton severed, well any that were left. Only Joe knew about the job, but even then, he wasn't privy to the name of my boss or where I was actually living. I had a burn phone that I only ever used to talk to him. At other times it was switched off and put away, well, never leaving the apartment anyway.

Talking of him I was sure that it was my turn to call. If possible then we caught up with each other on a Sunday evening.

"You're late calling. Everything okay Cupcake?"

A look at my watch showed that I was indeed late calling him. Sheesh he could have called me if he was so worried.

"Just got in Joe?"

I replied knowing that he was trying to make me feel guilty.

"How'd you guess? I just picked Bob up from Mooch"

I knew that Joe had wanted to see other woman after me, but at first, he'd been hesitant to tell me. I was upset that he hadn't told me, not that he was seeing anyone. Sheesh, did he think I'd be jealous, or did he think that by doing that, by admitting to seeing another woman that it would hurt me? Who knew what logic he used for that.

"So, are you going to tell me?"

I waited, hearing the opening of a cupboard and then the sound of something being poured into a glass. Knowing him as well as I did, I guessed he was drinking a beer. He'd told me that he'd been chatting up a woman who had moved into a house on his street. As far as I was concerned, she seemed perfect for him.

"You were right. She loved the flowers when I picked her up. I took her to Rossinis"

One of the difficult conversations that I'd had with Joe was his total lack of romance when it came to women. Hey, I had first hand experience. Takeaways in front of the television watching a game weren't what a woman wanted. He needed to take her out on dates and get to know her. Okay, I didn't venture into how he needed to prove that he was serious and stop picking up other women at the same time. I'd spent over an hour a couple of weeks ago letting him know how to treat someone. Seems he'd listened to something that I'd said.

"So are you seeing her again?"

Keen to know just how successful the evening had been.

"Err, yeah. We're both busy until the weekend so I suggested a movie"

I opened my mouth to lecture him on what type of movie to go see but then was cut off before I could utter a word.

"I know. No trashy romance or blood and gore. We actually discussed it between us"

I smiled at how grown up he sounded saying that. Maybe he was changing as well.

"I bumped into Santos at the station last week. First time I've seen any of the Rangemen in there for an age. They were bringing in a man for the FBI to pick up. Very high profile. Said that they'd had to take a team of men in order to find and bring him in"

Maye that was why there was no one at Rangeman that I knew. There were so many questions that I wanted to ask. Did he ask about me, was Ranger back home? I hesitated because asking wouldn't change where I was or what I was doing. I'd moved on.

"He asked after you, said he was worried because he couldn't find a trace of you. Asked if I knew where you were. I kept to our script, that you had to move to find a job, but I wasn't sure where"

In a way Joe saying that had me regretting not being able to tell anyone at Rangeman where I was but what was the point. Ranger had made it very clear that there would never be anything more between us and I couldn't just put my life on hold just in case he changed his mind. No, it was a chapter of my life that was over, even if it did have that twinge of pain go through me.

"As far as I know, Ranger isn't back yet. Just thought I'd let you know"

"Thanks"

What else could I say? Joe knew my feelings for Ranger. Maybe that was part of why we ended, he could see that I had unresolved feelings for Ranger. What was so surprising was that it had been Joe who had insisted that I tell him everything that had unfolded between Ranger and me. Okay it was after we'd decided to just be friends. In a way Joe had stepped in as my confidante when Mary Lou had left. He'd been logical and matter of fact. Not easy for me to listen to but had convinced me that Ranger wasn't the type of man who would ever settle down with one woman.

"So, have you passed your probationary period?"

I appreciated the change in conversation. I suppose that Joe understood my unresolved feelings for Ranger and why I had taken the plunge to move. There was just nothing left for me in Trenton.

"I got my license through yesterday, though my boss must have pulled a few strings to get it. I have a meeting with him in the morning"

When I'd first applied for the job, I'd been worried that I wouldn't be eligible to be a private investigator. According to the information that I'd read I had to be a resident of Massachusetts and have three citizens verify my application before the form was submitted to the Colonel of the State Police. Penderton had assured me that he would expediate the paperwork for me but that it would take about four weeks. He'd informed me that those four weeks would be a probationary time for me. Time when I could prove to him that I was capable of doing the job.

"He must know people. I passed your letters onto your mother and grandmother. She barely looked at me let alone talked to me"

That had me smiling. After Joe and I had declared that we were just friends my mother had done her best to get us back together. She'd started to make a habit of calling Joe, telling him that I was pining for him. Then she was constantly inviting him around for dinner when she knew that I was going to be there. In the end Joe had to tell her to her face that we were over and were just friends and for her to stop harassing him. Joe was being a good sport by allowing me to send letters to him at the station for my family.

"Have you spoken to them recently?"

A question that I knew he would ask.

"Yes. I had a job away from where I am, so I bought a burn phone and spoke to them. You know, not once did she ask me if I was okay or if I was happy. All she did was moan at me. Mrs Junansky's daughter didn't leave home for a job"

I heard Joe laugh on the other end of the phone because we both knew that Mrs. Junansky's daughter had left home because she'd got four years for embezzlement.

"I won't be calling her any time soon. Anyway, going back to my probationary period. I managed to complete all of my assignments so I don't think that my boss will be unhappy with me"

"Good for you. Look, I have to get to bed. I caught a case this afternoon and need to be up and out in the morning. I'll talk to you next week depending on our workloads. Stay safe"

"Bye Joe"

Turning the phone off I got up from the couch and walked into the kitchen. The phone went into a butter dish at the back of the cupboard, behind a set of pans. Yes, I had cooking utensils here in the apartment and I had started to use them. Okay, the skillet was my go-to utensil. I'd learnt that I could make myself a meal with diced up vegetables, meat and either microwave rice or pasta. I'd bought a few different sauces that I would add, sweet chili sauce, teriyaki or garlic to change up my menu. Hey, it tasted good and was simple enough for me. Okay, I still indulged in take aways sometimes.

Having mentioned the meeting in the morning I knew that I needed to be ready for that. In the last four weeks Penderton had given me jobs to follow up on. I'd met up with him twice so far because his usual method of passing on cases to me was via a secure site. Once I'd completed a case, I would send my report back to him. The first meeting had been to inform me of that procedure and to read through what else he expected from me. I'd tried not to look too shocked when I'd seen his requirements. Carry a gun and practice at least once a week in the private range. Participate in an exercise class, of which I had five options, and finally complete a number of online training units. The box that he'd handed to me contained a gun and choice of holsters. The range was the first place that I'd gone to when I'd left the meeting.

So maybe I need to tell you a bit about the geography of where I was living and working. Mr Penderton owned a large parcel of land, prime estate for the area we were in. He lived in the old stone house that was situated in the center of the plot. The garage along with my apartment were just off the street at the corner with a short drive to reach the garage and a parking space for me to park my car. I accessed my apartment from a set of external stairs that ran up the side of the building. Surrounding the garage, well I suppose Mr Penderton's residence, was a tall fence camouflaged by tall evergreen trees. That had the effect of maintaining his privacy from the rest of the world and me. My only outdoor area was a balcony from the lounge area that looked onto the trees, and I suppose the far end of the property. To be honest that suited me fine. I had no wish to be responsible for any upkeep of a garden. The balcony, like the rest of the apartment was furnished so I spent time sat outside when I needed to relax.

The gun range was in the far right corner of the land accessed through a locked gate and along a narrow passageway. To be honest I found it a bit creepy taking that walk and was glad of the feeling of having a loaded gun on me. You might be interested to know that my cookie jar had come with me but for the first time in my life I never used it to store my gun. I was supposed to have with me whilst working so after doing that for four weeks it felt more comfortable, and I was improving at using it. Whether I could ever aim it at a person rather than a paper target was still up for debate.

In the four weeks that I'd been here I'd only ever seen two other employees. Never close enough to talk to but I was sure that they were aware that I was living in the apartment. One was an older man whose job looked to be attending to the garden and maintenance of the buildings with a younger man who was in and out of the garage. Not that I'd even been inside the garage. I had no idea what cars were kept there. When I'd had to go up to the main house there had always been a large SUV parked up, so I assumed that was the transport that Mr Penderton used if he went out.

I made sure that my files were in order for the morning meeting and then went through to the bedroom to sort out some clothes. What was it about having to wear black? My attire had to consist of black trousers or a skirt, black blouse and a short black jacket with low heeled shoes. Black of course.

At least I looked smart for official meetings. When I was following up on a case Mr Penderton had agreed that street clothes were obviously necessary. Thank heavens for that. A time to wear jeans and a colored T-shirt. After showering I lay in bed considering how my life had changed so much.