All familiar characters belong to Janet. Mistakes are mine alone.
"Don't even think about it, Joe. I'm not in the mood," I told the jerk.
"You must've been in some kind of mood to injure two guys and have Ranger here defending you exploding yet another vehicle. Or maybe he was 'in the mood' last night and was feeling reciprocal today. You know, you screw him and he turns around and screws the criminal justice system by making sure no charges are filed against you."
One of Morelli's bigger problems is that he's aware of his surroundings even less often than I am. He thought he could insult me while I'm all alone, but Ranger has a way of not being seen yet still being there whenever I need him. Ranger's arm flew past me and his fist landed with audible impact against Joe's jaw, sending him crashing to the ground right outside the TPD's front doors.
"Say anything like that to her again, Morelli, and you can consider them the last words you ever speak," Ranger said in a tone that sent goosebumps up and down my body.
The scary kind of goosebumps, not the sexy ones he usually inspires.
Ranger dropped an arm around my shoulders and pulled me tight against his side, as if Joe is in any condition to come after me again. So much for my brilliant idea of waiting outside the station so I wouldn't run into the a-hole rather than following Ranger inside to help clean up my mess. With my luck, I really should've known that Morelli would either be heading back to the police station, or leaving it to try to locate me, while I was here.
Joe finally made it to his feet, spitting out a mouthful of blood before speaking. "Thank you, Manoso. Now I've got you on assaulting a police officer. You're under arrest."
I wanted to kiss the grin Ranger allowed to show on his face. He couldn't look less worried or intimidated. He's just enjoying the show. I also wanted to kiss Carl for interrupting in the best possible way, but I didn't want Ranger to shoot the 'good cop' who's never stopped being my friend.
"I would rethink that move, Joe," Carl told him. "From what I just heard and saw, you approached the lady specifically to harass her. Ranger sensed Steph was in danger and came out here solely to protect her from you."
"Lady?" Joe asked, with a definite sneer twisting the word.
"If you want to get hit again, keep it up," Carl warned. "Stephanie was here to get the capture receipt she earned. She didn't seek you out or attack you in any way. You used what you heard on the scanner as an opportunity to corner her. Arrest Ranger and it's gonna look reeeal bad for you if the case gets reviewed. Steph, Ranger, you two can go. I'll take it from here."
"Thanks, Carl," I told him, making a mental note to get some doughnuts and actual drinkable coffee delivered to him and Eddie in the morning.
"No problem. Eddie and I were expecting something to go down once the news started circulating that you'd moved in with Manoso. There were steps put in place for whatever retaliation came up."
I snorted in disgust. "It's really creepy that me moving in with my boyfriend would cause a supposedly respected homicide detective - who I haven't seen or spoken to in forever - to be out for revenge against me. Like me living and enjoying my life has anything to do with him."
"You're a special lady, Steph," Ranger told me, emphasizing the word Morelli mocked. "Not someone who is easy to forget or get over. I should know. I didn't start relaxing until you agreed to move into my building. Only difference between me and this fucker is I actually love you, and even when we couldn't be together I was never stupid enough to give you a reason to kick me out of your life."
I went up on the tips of my steel-toed boots to give him a quick kiss. "Yeah, from day one you've been there for me. And until the second I stop breathing … I'm going to be that same unconditionally-loving person for you."
