Stephanie Plum thought she had everything she could ever want. She ended her relationship with Joe to pursue one with Ranger. Joe was marrying a lovely nurse from the hospital who transferred to Trenton after meeting him in Miami. The weather was colder than Stella expected, but she wanted to be with Joseph Morelli. Stephanie liked Stella, and they became close friends.
Ranger stroked Stephanie's back. She moaned and rolled to her back. He smiled before taking what he craved from her body. "Morning, Carlos," she breathily said after screaming his name.
"Good morning, babe," he replied. Ranger kissed her forehead before climbing from the bed, leaving Stephanie tangled in the sheets. Stephanie watched him leave their bedroom to shower and didn't feel like joining him. Nausea from morning sickness made her move slower. She was surprised Ranger was happy about having a baby with her.
Stephanie slowly got out of bed. Her stomach rolled as she expected, and her bladder was demanding to be emptied. "It's Thanksgiving Day. What are you doing today?" Stephanie asked after using the toilet. She should have asked Ranger for his plans several days earlier before he decided to join his family for dinner as in previous years.
"Nothing, babe. I'm on patrol," he replied, surprising Stephanie. She expected him to spend time with his family or offer to accompany her to the Plum's celebration. It upset Stephanie that he didn't want to share the day with her.
Ranger wasn't telling Stephanie the truth. It was nothing she needed to know. He counted on her ability only to see the silver lining and live in denial about whatever would burst her happy bubble. They have lived together since Stephanie broke up with Joe six months earlier. Ranger wasn't expecting to have a child. It pleased him immensely that Stephanie decided to keep the baby, but he didn't want another reminder of forgetting protection while Stephanie was taking antibiotics. His life was no longer his own. The smallest of miracles was Stephanie refusing to get married because of the baby. Ranger would support their child as long as he was alive.
Stephanie had a lot to be thankful for. She had a full-time job at Rangeman. Her bank account had more money than she thought possible. Stephanie had a brand-new car parked in the garage. Living with Ranger was a bonus. Everything smelled of roses.
Ranger shut off the shower. Stephanie quickly stripped to climb inside to get cleaned. After a chaste kiss and a swat to her naked ass, Ranger left the washroom to prepare for his day on patrol. He felt slightly guilty for what he planned. With Stephanie unable to chase skips, he offered to assist Joyce Barnhardt at Vinnie's insistence. They were meeting that afternoon to formulate a capture strategy.
Despite telling Stephanie he didn't have plans, Ranger never joined Stephanie for dinner at her parents' house. She felt sad that he said no when asked. He wasn't working. It frustrated her more than she let on to Ranger. Their first Thanksgiving Day as an official couple would be spent apart. Stephanie's heart broke a little. She was determined to make the day happier.
Dinner at her parents' was chaotic as usual. Valerie held her crying son, Bert, as Albert spilled gravy and potatoes on his shirt. Stephanie wondered who needed the bib more, Bert or his father. Her stomach felt squishy during dinner. It felt like pending doom or something of the sort. Stephanie excused herself before dessert. She couldn't continue pretending everything was perfect.
Helen furrowed her brows. Something seemed off about Stephanie. She couldn't put her finger on it. Valerie passed Bert to Albert and followed Helen into the kitchen. "Mom, what's wrong?" Valerie asked.
"Stephanie wasn't herself today. She barely ate and left before dessert," Helen replied.
Valerie smiled at her mother. "That's because she's pregnant," Valerie offered. "She planned to announce it after dinner today. I guess something came up."
"Is she having problems with Carlos?" Helen wondered.
"Not that I know. Stephanie doesn't discuss her private life," Valerie confessed. Helen clicked her tongue as she prepared the dessert. Valerie smiled and carried the dishes to the dining room to serve the others.
Driving down Hamilton on her way home, Stephanie noticed Ranger's Porsche 911 turbo parked in front of Vinnie's bond office. Stephanie's heart raced as she parked farther up the road. She didn't know what to expect. What she found was devastating.
In the alley, where Ranger would kiss Stephanie until her knees weakened, was her boyfriend having sex with Joyce Barnhardt. It was the Dickie fiasco all over again. The devastation engulfed her as her heart broke. Stephanie wondered how long Ranger had been screwing Joyce.
It was time. Enough was enough. Stephanie deserved better. She went to Rangeman to pack her bags. "Stupid Thanksgiving," Stephanie mumbled.
Ranger sensed Stephanie close. He pulled from Joyce without getting his release. The condom got deposited into the dumpster behind the building, and he ran to his car, clicking the fob to unlock it. Ranger messed up. Joyce lured him into the alley with the promise of an epic rub, tug and anal play, which was something Stephanie refused to do. Ranger knew better. He wasn't attracted to Joyce. Stephanie was his world. In a moment of weakness, he succumbed to Joyce's attention.
A gun discharged as Ranger opened his car door. He never noticed Joyce waiting for him. "Asshole," Joyce screamed as she emptied the magazine into his chest. Ranger fell to the ground. Nobody was around to find him. He felt the blood pooling beneath his body. Ranger was too weak to press his panic button.
Stephanie cried as she parked inside the Rangeman garage. She used the fob to get to the apartment. After packing her suitcase with the essentials, Stephanie opened the safe to grab her service weapon. She found an envelope with "confidential" written diagonally across it. Stephanie didn't care. She tore it open and cried. Ranger had rewritten his will. Everything he owns goes to his daughter, Julie, or the other core members. He had listed them. Stephanie searched for her name but came up empty. The document was dated six months earlier, after she ended her relationship with Joseph Morelli.
There was nothing for her in Carlos Manoso's death. She shook her head and tossed the paperwork back into the safe. Ranger removed her from his will. It was another blow to her. Another indication that he didn't want her in his life. Stephanie grabbed the bundle of cash, shoving it into her purse. She had nothing left to give. Stephanie's heart had shattered beyond repair. Doing what Stephanie did best, she ran.
Stephanie never bothered looking over her shoulder as she climbed the stairs to the roof. She knew Hector was replacing the cameras in a few days because they shorted out when there was a leak. Her escape from Rangeman and all the pain it offered would go unnoticed by its inhabitants. Stephanie didn't want Ranger's money. But not mentioning her or their unborn child at all was too much for Stephanie to handle. He couldn't have pushed her farther away.
The men waited for Stephanie to appear in the elevator. They never realized she had contacted her Uncle Joe for a lift out of Trenton, New Jersey. As the hours passed, Manny and Bobby got nervous. They hadn't heard from Ranger, and Stephanie never contacted Ella for an evening snack.
Ella, wanting to check on Stephanie, went to the seventh-floor apartment. She found the safe open. Paperwork from what appeared to be Ranger's will got strewn around the bedroom. Stephanie wasn't a gold digger. She didn't want anything from Carlos. Ella was furious as she read the paperwork and found Stephanie wasn't mentioned. Carlos never updated the paperwork to include their unborn child. She grabbed the apartment phone to contact Tank.
"Yo," Tank answered.
"Stephanie is gone. Her suitcase and only the clothing she had purchased were missing. I can't find her."
Tank hung his head. He asked Lester to pull the recordings from the roof cameras. They watched Stephanie climb into a helicopter an hour earlier. It was too late. The light of Rangeman got extinguished.
Before Tank could issue orders to locate Stephanie, he received a call from Joseph Morelli. Joyce Barnhardt got arrested for murder. They found Ranger lying on the road beside his Porsche. Joyce stood over him, screaming. Someone driving down Hamilton contacted the police. Ricardo Carlos Manoso was dead. He died before they could get him loaded into the ambulance.
Tank called Lester and Bobby to his office. They discussed Rangeman and how they were supposed to proceed with their leader gone. It was a shame Stephanie had left. The guys wanted her to take the CEO role and add her as a core team member.
"What's in his will?" Bobby asked, praying it hadn't changed much in the past few years.
They called the Rangeman lawyer, Kevin Harper, who indicated that Tank Sherman, Bobby Brown and Lester Santos were to divide Ranger's shares among them. "What about Stephanie?" Tank asked.
"Removed from everything," Harper replied. "She didn't want anything."
"Was there at least a clause for children?" Tank asked.
"No. The only child mentioned is Julie Martine."
"When did he revise the will?" Lester asked through gritted teeth. He prayed his cousin wasn't stupid and removed Stephanie when she met with Morelli for dinner six months earlier for a meaningful discussion. Lester knew Stephanie planned to break up with Morelli. It wasn't working with the cop, and she wanted to start a life with Ranger.
"February 18," Harper replied. Lester cursed. Ranger had changed his will the day Stephanie dumped the cop.
The following evening, Stephanie was watching the news from her Chicago apartment. There was a segment about Ranger dying. She watched in horror as they played a video to record his murder. Joyce Barnhardt looked like a possessed woman as she emptied her gun into Ranger's chest. Stephanie bent over in pain as her body miscarried her child. She cried and called for the ambulance.
Three hours later, Stephanie indeed had nothing left. Ranger was gone. The baby was gone. She had a few hundred dollars and no job prospects. There was nowhere left for her to go.
Nothing mattered. Stephanie disappeared into the dark abyss. It dragged her under.
The alarms sounded as her heart finished breaking. Doctors and nurses rushed into the room. Electricity moved through Stephanie's body as they attempted to shock her back to life. It was too late to save her. There was nothing left.
Thanksgiving Day in Trenton, New Jersey was never the same.
