Disclaimer:  I own nothing.  Trenton belongs to New Jersey.  Ranger, Steph and the others are owned by Janet Evanovich.  I’m just borrowing them for my own amusement.  No infringement is intended and I’m not making any money from this so don’t sue me.

Author’s Note:  This is just something that popped into my head.  I had been reading TBO and the phrase “Don’t expect me to always be this civilized” stuck in my head.  I wondered what Ranger would be like when he wasn’t so civilized.  Takes place between books 10 & 11.

Take that adult-content warning seriously.  No Children Under 17 Admitted to this Story!!!!!!

Uncivilized
(6/16/06)

Chapter 1

Stephanie peeled off her clothes and stepped under the hot shower spray for the third time that day.  It had been a rough one.  She had picked up four skips.  The first one had pissed in her car in retaliation for hauling him out of his house before Jerry Springer had ended.  The fact that he had wet himself in the process didn’t seem important to him.  She’d had to swing into the Stop n’ Shop to pick up a roll of paper towels and a bottle of Febreeze to cover the smell.  The second skip had been Norvil Thompson.  She’d put on her rain poncho before she went in hoping to keep her clothes relatively clean in case Norvill was in the mood to throw things.  He was, and by the time she had wrestled him into cuffs she had squashed tomatoes in her hair and an orange peel in her shoe.  Her clothes had escaped his wrath, but she had still needed a shower.  The boys in blue had a nice laugh when she marched Norvill in.  One cop had been particularly helpful when he offered her a riot shield and hazmat suit for next time she went out.  They had a lot of yuks over that one.  She smiled and flipped them all the bird as she headed out with her receipt. 

She had to drive down to the waterfront to pick up a skip who lived above a fish market.  She had had to chase him and he holed up in the prep area of the market.  After being pelted with fish heads, guts and pretty much anything else he could get his hands on, she finally tackled him and dragged him to the car.  One more body receipt and another trip to the Stop N’ Shop and the fish smell was almost masked by the smell of Febreeze and her new vanilla air freshener. 

Finally, she had gone to pick up Natasha Roberts who was FTA on a drunk and disorderly charge.  Natasha, being totally sauced, decided that she didn’t want to cooperate and attacked her.  She winced as the water hit a particularly deep scratch.  There had been much cussing, punching and hair pulling until Stephanie was able to get her stun gun and zap Natasha.  Then she’d had to haul Natasha’s drunk, smelly, 180 pound carcass into the police department.  After another round of teasing from her friendly neighborhood cops, she retrieved her body receipt and called it a day.

She stepped out of the shower and toweled off, slipping into sweat pants and a Metallica t-shirt.  She fixed herself a sandwich and popped a few cereal nuggets into Rex’s cage.  She was just headed into the living room for a Ghostbusters marathon when there was a knock on her door.  She opened it to see Tank filling her doorway.

“Uh, hi Tank,” she said.

“Ms. Plum,” he replied, handing her a plain white envelope.  “Ranger would like you to read this and told me to wait for a response.”

Frowning, she opened the envelope to see a plain piece of paper.

Babe,

Distraction.  Personal favor, no FTA.  Be dressed.  7:00.

R.

Well, that was cryptic even for Ranger.  She looked in askance at Tank.  “He says it’s personal.  What’s this about?”

Tank looked at her for a full minute before he spoke, obviously wondering if he should be saying anything to her.  She knew that Ranger didn’t hand out information freely, and wouldn’t appreciate one of his men talking out of turn.  Finally he said, “Rangeman had a bad day.  A bust went sour and we lost some good people.  Found our shooter at Mickey’s bar on Sloane.  Ranger doesn’t want the cops in our business, so he would like you to lure the fuckwad out so that we could talk to him.”  He gave her what he probably thought was a polite smile.  If she didn’t know him she would have been scared shitless.  She also could imagine just what that “talk” would consist of and figured that whoever this guy was he would probably be praying for death before the night was over.  She shivered at the thought of an angry Ranger.  He could be damn scary on a good day.  Ranger on a bad day was beyond her comprehension.

And he was asking her for a personal favor. 

Lord knew he had done a lot for her over the last two years, and it never occurred to her to refuse.  “Tell him I’ll be ready.”  Tank nodded and left.

Stephanie went to her closet and started flipping through her wardrobe.  Mickey’s bar was not known for it’s classy clientele so if she stepped it up a little she would likely draw the ‘fuckwad’s’ attention.  She picked out a black skirt that came to three inches above her knee and paired it with a sapphire blue, string halter.  She pulled out 4 inch black vinyl FMPs and a matching purse.  She stripped off her sweats and pulled on a pair of lacy boy shorts that fit like a second skin.  The halter was completely backless, held together by a criss-cross network of string, so a bra was out.  She stepped into the bathroom and misted her hair with spray gel taming it into what she hoped would eventually be a sexily unkempt look.  Normally, she wore her makeup understated with the option to increase her mascara coatings depending on how insecure she was feeling on any given day.  For this type of job, the make up had to be a lot less subtle.  She lined her eyes with midnight black pencil and then added a combination of royal blue and taupe colored eye shadows.  Three coats of mascara and some of her Revlon “Kiss me Red” lipstick and she was good to go. 

She stepped into the skirt and zipped it up quickly.  The halter took a little more time but she managed to thread the straps and wiggle into it, tying it securely at the base of her spine.  She rolled on a pair of nude sheer thigh-highs.   Ranger had said to “be dressed” which meant that he wanted a gun on her person, not in her purse.  Unfortunately, the backless top prevented her from tucking her .38 into her waistband.  She opened her nightstand and pulled out a thigh holster.  She’d found it one afternoon when searching for a nail file.  Not the first time Ranger had left her a little gift.  She secured the holster and slipped her gun inside.  She turned slowly in front of the mirror to see if the gun bulged. Surprisingly, the gun didn’t show, she’d just have to be careful to keep it covered when she sat down.  The knock on her door came just as she shrugged into her black leather dress jacket.  She opened the door to find Tank once again.

He smiled.  “Ms. Plum.”

“Hey.  Where’s Ranger?  Usually he picks me up for these things.”

Tank shrugged a muscular shoulder.  “Had some things to take care of and asked me to pick you up.  He’ll meet us at Mickey’s.”

Hmm.  “Oh, OK.” She followed Tank to the parking lot and they got into a black Ford Expedition. 

Tank handed her a photograph of a strikingly handsome man.  He was broad-shouldered with sandy blonde hair that fell across his forehead drawing attention to a pair of sea-green eyes.  He looked like he belonged on the cover of a magazine.  She gave Tank a disbelieving look.  “This guy is a killer?”

Tank slid a sideways glance at her.  “Shot three guys in the head not twelve hours ago.”

“Jesus.”  She blew out a sigh.  “OK.  So Mr. Bodacious is a bad-ass.  Anything else I should know?”

“Bobby and Lester will be playing pool in the back of the bar.  Keep them in sight.  Ranger’s in there, but you won’t see him.  Don’t let this shithead get you alone.  Don’t let him put his hand up your skirt to find that .38 you’re carrying.  And for God’s sake don’t get hurt.”  He handed her a pin-head microphone which she hurriedly tucked underneath her left breast and secured with tape.  “Ranger’s having a fucked up day as it is.  Something happens to you on this one and my life will be shit indefinitely.”

She chewed on her bottom lip.  “I’m really sorry about your friends, Tank.  Ranger’s taking it hard, I guess.”

“You have no idea.”  Tank pulled up to the curb in front of the bar.  He turned to her.  “You have a tendency to stir things up when you get involved.  There’s no room for that tonight.  Go in, get your man and get the hell out of there.  Understand?” She nodded.  “Your weapon’s loaded, right?”

When she had to think about it, Tank muttered “Christ” and held out his hand for her gun.  She slid her skirt up and pulled it from the holster, handing it to him butt first.  He opened the console between them and pulled out six .38 caliber bullets and loaded her gun.  “Don’t hesitate to use it if you think your life is threatened.  This guy might look good, but he’s as bad as it gets.” He handed the gun back to her and hit the automatic unlock for the doors.  “Be careful.”

“You bet.” She straightened her skirt and walked up to the gray steel door that led to the bar.  She took a deep breath and walked in.  She spotted Bobby and Lester right away, playing pool in the back just as Tank said they would.  She scanned the bar to see if she could spot Ranger but no joy.  She saw her target sitting at the end of the bar with his back to the wall.  Great, a paranoid, cold-blooded killer.  She sauntered up to the bar and took a seat at the other end where she could make direct eye contact with him.  This guy would probably not go for the “Stumble and Flirt” approach, better to start out with some distance.  She got the bartender’s attention and ordered a beer. 

She took a sip of beer as she casually looked around the room.  Mickey’s had at one time been a nice Irish-style pub, but as the denizens of Stark Street expanded, Sloane Avenue had been swallowed up.  Now, Mickey’s bar still had the booths and the hardwood bar with the decorative glass behind it, but the tables were scarred and the bar hadn’t had a coat of wax in forever.  There were ground-up peanut shells littering the scuffed parquet floor and duct tape covering the rips in the booth seats. 

Time to put things in motion.  Stephanie looked down into her beer glass as if it held the secrets of the universe.  She could feel someone’s eyes on her, an itch crept up between her shoulder blades.  Might be Ranger, his stares usually caused a physical reaction in her, sometimes they were so intense to cause her to check to make sure she was still clothed afterwards.  But this didn’t feel the same, this felt…almost menacing.  She slid her jacket off, laying it on the stool to her left.  Slowly she brought her gaze up and locked eyes with her target who was blatantly staring at her.  She gave a shy smile and ran a finger around the top edge of her glass, cutting her eyes away for a second and then looking back.  He returned her smile with a shameless wolf grin and Stephanie gave a little mental victory dance.  Mr. Bodacious was hooked, now to reel him in without any incidents.  She met his wolf grin with a flirty smile, toying with the corner of her drink napkin.  He countered with a wink and a smile that showed double dimples.  She upped the anti with a slow lick to her bottom lip.  BINGO!  Mr. Bodacious stood up and walked over, smoothly sliding onto the barstool to her right. 

“Hi,” she said.  Best to make the first move.

“Hello.  I haven’t seen you in here before.  I’d remember if I had.”

She smiled at him. “Well, I don’t get over this way much but I was visiting a friend at St. Francis and just felt the need for a drink.”

He gave her a slow perusal. “Lucky me.”

She returned his perusal and added a saucy look.  “Play your cards right and you just might be lucky twice over.”

They made casual small talk while they finished their drinks.  Stephanie picked up a napkin from the bar and fanned herself. “Boy, this place is really stuffy.  I think I’m going to step outside for awhile.  Care to join me?”

“I’ll do better than that.  I’ll walk you out and even give you a ride home if you like.” He stood up and held her jacket for her, his fingers brushing her bare shoulders.  She gave him a smile and picked up her purse.

He kept his hand to the small of her back as they walked out the door.  Stephanie counted off the beats, usually she got to 3 seconds out the door when the boys stepped in.  She was up to seven and there wasn’t a black-clad, buff body in sight.  He steered her towards a forest green jaguar parked in the dark corner of the parking lot.  This was not looking good.  She ran scenarios in her head as to why this guy wasn’t getting introduced to some severe pain.  Then she realized…she forgot to switch the microphone on!  Not like she could do it now in front of him.  Crap, crap, crap!!

She reminded herself to breathe.  Ok, you’re in a dark parking lot with a killer, what do you do?  You run, that’s what you do!  Only she couldn’t run while he had an arm around her waist.  Shit, when did that happen?   Ok, Plan B.  She watched the ground in front of her for a moment and gave a silent Hail Mary when she saw the pot hole.  YES!  She purposely caught her 4-inch heel on the edge of the hole and stumbled, the heel snapping off and sending her down to the ground on one knee.  Mr. Killer reached down to catch her arm. 

“Ow, damn!” she said.  She thanked the retail gods for Payless Shoes and their weak heels. 

“Whoa.  Are you OK?”

She gave a very real wince, “Yeah, I broke a heel on this stupid pavement.”  She tried to stand and quickly realized that it wasn’t just the pavement that was stupid, her head wasn’t far behind.  In her graceful attempt at escape, she’d tweaked her ankle.  Fabulous!  Now, not only was she in a dark parking lot with a killer, but she couldn’t even run if she got the chance. She tried to take a step and her ankle throbbed.  “Oh boy, looks like I did a number on my ankle.”

Mr. Bodacious Killer gave her a gallant bow that in another scenario she would have found charming, but now just creeped her out.  “Allow me, miss.”  He scooped her up and carried her over to his car, setting her on the hood. 

Stephanie quickly pulled her skirt down to cover her knees while her potential murderer crouched down to check out her ankle.  “So, does it look bad?” she asked.

He stood up and smiled at her, placing a hand on either side of her hips and leaning in slightly.  Uh-oh, the lean.  That meant the he was moving in for a kiss next.  “No, it’s not bad.  Maybe a minor sprain.  A little ice should fix it.”  He leaned forward and nuzzled her ear.  “I’ve got some at my place.”

Before she could respond, a black-clad arm wrapped around his neck, lifting him completely off his feet.  He was body-slammed to the ground.  Stephanie stared in shock as a black booted foot kicked the guy in the ribs and groin repeatedly.  Her eyes traveled up those black-clad legs, up the trim hips and washboard abs, up the muscular chest and shoulders and locked with those of a severely pissed-off Ranger.  

Her mouth gaped open as Ranger grabbed the guy one-handed and lifted him off the ground.  A solid punch connected with a rib cage and a sickening crack echoed in the lot.  Ranger did some move that was too fast to follow and the guy screamed and grabbed for his knee.  Mr. Sure-to-be-Maimed landed on his ass and promptly puked his guts up.  He struggled to stand up, wiping the vomit on the back of his hand.  No sooner had the swipe been made then a roundhouse kick caught him in the jaw, whipping his head around and knocking him unconscious.  His head hit the pavement with a hard thunk. 

Stephanie stared down at the guy that lay on the ground.  Did anyone else think that his neck looked funny?  She blinked a few times trying to comprehend what she had just seen.  It had maybe taken all of 15 seconds.  What was that?  Ranger.  Yeah, Ranger was angry about something – out of control rage.  But that didn’t make sense because Ranger didn’t do out-of-control, he was the epitome of cool and calm.  She was having a hard time putting together what she knew about Ranger and what she had just witnessed. 

She snapped to attention as someone grabbed the lapels of her jacket and roughly hauled her off the hood of the car. She landed on her throbbing ankle and whimpered as she was dragged over to a black Porsche and pushed into the seat.  Ranger angled into the car, jammed the key into the ignition and left a 10 foot trail of rubber as he whipped the car out of the lot. 

Chapter 2

The speedometer hit 85 as they ran through yet another red light in downtown Trenton.  While cars were swerving and honking, and drivers cussing and gesturing, Ranger slammed the gearshift into 5^th ignoring everything around him.  The Porsche jumped up to 100 mph as they crossed Mercer Blvd. 

Ranger normally drove in a zone of silence and concentration, obeying all speed limits and traffic laws.  Stephanie was wondering just where in the hell that sane, Zen-like Ranger had gone. 

Her stomach gave a little flip as she thought about Mr. Bodacious Killer and the way Ranger had taken him apart.  It was no secret Ranger was a badass, in fact, it was damn near legend.  But hearing about it and seeing it in Technicolor with surround-sound were two entirely different things.  Ranger downshifted and the Porsche slid sideways as they turned left onto Haywood, tires squealing and spinning for purchase on the asphalt.  At the rate they were going, if they crashed she would be dead so she figured she didn’t have much to lose by questioning him. 

“What’s going on?” she asked.  “What is this all about, Ranger?”

Nothing. 

Her eyes widened as the speedometer crept up to 105; she could hear her heart thundering in her ears.  She braced a hand on the dash and looked at him.  “Ranger,” she breathed, “please slow down, you’re scaring me.”

Omigod, was that an eye roll?  

“Tank told me that things went bad last night.  I’m so sorry about that.  He deserved to be punished.  But did you have to pulverize the guy?”

He cut his eyes to her briefly, and a muscle in his jaw ticked, but he said nothing.

She tried again.  “I know he did some awful things, but Tank’s going to call an ambulance, right?  They’ll take him to the hospital, won’t they?”

He looked at her like she was as dumb as a rock.  Of course. There wasn’t going to be an ambulance heading to Mickey’s tonight. 

Ranger slammed on the brakes and wrenched the steering wheel.  Stephanie was thrown against the seatbelt, knocking the wind from her lungs.  The Porsche skid to a sideways stop right in front of the gates to the Rangeman parking garage.

“Jesus Christ!” she yelled.  “Are you trying to kill me?” The words died in her throat as he laid a look on her that nearly made her wet her pants, and not in a good way. 

The security arm went up and he gunned the Porsche into the garage, parking abruptly in the first available slot.  He popped open his door and was around to her side before she could even get her seatbelt all the way off.  The door flew open and he grabbed a handful of her jacket and pulled her from the car.  He kicked the door shut behind them. 

He gave her a shove toward the elevators.  She winced and hobbled toward the doors.  When they slid open, he pushed her to the back of the car.  She stumbled but caught herself on the railing to keep from falling to the floor.

She glared at him.  “What the hell is your problem?”  Again, he ignored her. 

The elevator rose to the 7^th floor and Ranger once again grabbed the collar of her jacket and pulled her out.  She tried to slap his hand away.  “Will you quit with the caveman routine?  I can walk!”  She thought she could hear him grinding his teeth, but he still said nothing.

He hit a button on his key fob and opened the door to his apartment.  She gave him her best Burg glare, almost daring him to manhandle her again. He might be a badass, but he’d still drop like a rock with a swift kick to the balls. He didn’t touch her again, but his eyes narrowed as he watched her hobble into the apartment.  Ranger stepped in behind her; the sound of the slamming door made her jump. 

She kicked off her shoes, thankful to be out of that broken heel.  She turned to look at him, setting her hands on her hips.  “OK, now are you going to tell me what’s wrong?”

He threw the keys into the dish on the sideboard table and brushed past her into the living room.  “Where would you like me to start, Stephanie?”  He pulled off his jacket and tossed it over a chair.  “Would you like to hear how my ex-wife called to tell me that she felt the $6,000 she gets every month wasn’t enough?  How she threatened to revoke my visitation with my daughter unless I increased it to $9,000 so she could afford her private spa treatments and the payment on her new Viper?”  He walked around her slowly.  “Or, maybe you’d like to hear about how what was supposed to be a routine bust turned into an execution of three good men.  Men I served with in the Rangers.  Men who had wives and children.  And how I had to tell those women and children that I got their husbands and fathers killed last night.” 

“Ranger, you didn’t…” she started, but he wasn’t finished yet.

He gave her a hard look.  “My team.  My responsibility.”  He walked to the windows and looked out at the cityscape.  His voice was low and had an edge of something she couldn’t quite identify as he said, “But maybe what we should really talk about is how you were given direct instructions from Tank and chose to ignore them.  Maybe you remember?  Keep Lester and Bobby in sight.  Do NOT be alone with that asshole.  Do not let him get a hand up your skirt.”

“He didn’t…”

“No, but he could have spotted the gun when he was crouched in front of you.  What would you have done then?”

“But..”

“AND, you were given a microphone that you neglected to turn on.  A microphone whose sole purpose was to monitor you and your safety.  Did you not hear the part about this guy being a cold-blooded killer?  Do you have any fucking idea how close you came to being a statistic tonight?”

“But I didn’t become a statistic!  Isn’t that what you say, don’t react to what MIGHT have happened, react to what DID happen?  OK, so I screwed up by forgetting to turn on the mike, but it worked out!  I knew you were there, and you took care of it.”

She quickly realized that she said something wrong when he turned dark eyes on her.  “I. Took. Care. Of. It.” He nodded his head slowly as if agreeing with her.  “Yes, Stephanie, I took care of it.  Batman to the rescue, right?”  He ran his hand over the back of his head, and yanked the tie out of his ponytail tossing it onto the coffee table.  He shook his hair loose in a gesture of frustration.  “Please tell me how someone with your intuition can be so goddamn naive. I’m not a fucking superhero, Stephanie!”

“I know that, Ranger.”

“No, I’m not sure you do.  You let Lula fill your head with all these stories about me.  You take stupid risks with your safety, because you know I’ll pull your ass out of the fire.  You’ve built me up so that I’m not sure if you even see me or just some figment of your imagination.”

“Lula talks about you a lot, that’s true.  But I know you. I see you, Ranger.”

“Really?  Because I see you too, Steph.” Somehow by the tone of his voice, she didn’t think that was a good thing.    “You know, I’ve tried to convince myself that Morelli’s better for you, that he’ll give you a good life.  But then when I see him touch you, I want to break his fucking neck. When I think about you with him…”  He shook his head and then locked eyes with her; his voice held an edge to it.  “Morelli is blind.  He sees what he wants to see, his devoted little ‘cupcake’.  But, you want to know what I see?”  She swallowed hard, thinking she wasn’t sure she wanted to be anywhere this conversation was going to end up.  “I see the way you look at me.” 

He slowly started walking toward her. With each forward step he took, she took one backward. She joked with Lula about Ranger having the “Eye of the Tiger”.  Maybe that wasn’t too far from the mark. She was definitely feeling like prey at the moment.  “Sometimes you’re afraid of me, and your eyes are big and ice-blue. Makes you look like a porcelain doll with your smooth, creamy skin.  But sometimes, your eyes go dark; like sapphires and you look at me like you’re remembering the way it felt to have me inside you, and how much you want to feel it again.”

She blushed and looked away from him.  God, was she that transparent? 

“I’ve been waiting for you to figure out what you want. I’m a patient man, but even my patience has limits.”  He was right in front of her now, where a deep breath would have put them in contact.  His presence was overwhelming, she couldn’t have moved if she wanted to – hell, she could barely breathe. He wasn’t touching her, yet she felt surrounded. “So, decision time.  What do you want, Steph?” 

She looked up at him and tried to think of something to say.  She couldn’t defend herself, because he was right.  His eyes darkened as he waited for her answer.   When she didn’t produce one, he grabbed her by the hips and yanked her up against him.  She gasped as she felt his hard body collide with hers.  “You want this, Babe?” he asked as he gently brushed the hair back from her face and kissed her softly.  When she didn’t respond, he kissed her a little harder. 

Stephanie let out a whimper, but she didn’t answer him – she didn’t know how.  She was confused by his behavior; this didn’t seem like her Ranger.  His mood was shifting so quickly.  When he ended the kiss and she still didn’t give him an answer he studied her face for a moment.  Whatever he saw there snapped what little control he had left.  “Or maybe, what you really want is this!”  He gave her a hard shove against the wall and pinned her to it with his body.  He fisted his hand in her hair and pulled her up on her toes, kissing her hard, pushing his tongue into her mouth.

He reached down and grabbed a fistful of her skirt, pulling it up so he could get his hand underneath.  He pulled open the Velcro straps on the thigh holster and then tossed the gun onto the couch.  “Is this what it’s going to take, Babe?” he hissed in her ear.  “You’re too afraid to make the decision on your own; don’t want to hurt anyone?  You want someone to make it for you?”  

He mauled her mouth with his own, and their tongues battled – first in her mouth, then in his.  She gasped for air as his mouth moved over her jaw and down her throat, nipping and sucking.  He let go of her hair and moved his hand down to squeeze her breast while his other slid up her thigh and cupped her ass, grinding her hips against his.  “I’ll make the decision for you, if that’s what you need.”

Stephanie tried to get a clear thought.  It had been a long time since Ranger had touched her.  Stolen kisses in shaded alleyways didn’t count.  On their night together he had been gentle and solicitous of her pleasure.  Now, he was agitated and his handling was rough – she should have been scared, but instead it was firing off every nerve in her body.   

He was right; she was avoiding making a decision between him and Joe because she didn’t want anyone to get hurt.  Especially herself.  Ranger had made his stand on relationships crystal clear.  They had walked away from their night together with the realization that what was between them was powerful.  After that, Ranger had put up an emotional wall and she had put up a physical one, afraid if she let her guard down around him she’d drag him into bed whenever the opportunity presented.  Joe didn’t deserve to be treated like that.  He was a good guy, and he loved her.  She loved him too, they had a lot of history together and he was comfortable, familiar and safe.  She just wasn’t in love with him the way she should be.  She didn’t have a passion for him that threatened to burn her from the inside whenever she was within 3 feet of him.  That feeling was reserved for Ranger.

She struggled against him.  “Let me go, Ranger.  I can’t do this with you.”  If she let him make love to her now, she’d never be able to walk away again.  She’d follow him around like a pathetic little puppy, even though she knew it wouldn’t change a thing.  He might love her in his own way, but that didn’t mean he wanted a life with her.

“No, I’m done with that.  I’m not letting you go.  Ever,” he whispered in her ear.  It sounded like both a threat and a promise.  He slid his hand up her back and grabbed a handful string. “You’re mine, Babe.  After tonight there’s no going back.”  He yanked hard on the strings to her halter and the fabric ripped apart.  Stephanie gasped as the silky material fell to the floor in a puddle of fabric.  He unzipped her skirt and it pooled around her ankles.  She was left in her lacy panties and stockings with the little pin-head microphone taped underneath her breast.  The little piece of crap that had started this whole thing. 

She looked up at Ranger.  His eyes were traveling over her body.  He bent down and seized her lips in a searing kiss that took her breath away.  His hand came up and pulled the microphone from her, tossing it to the floor.  He roughly kneaded her breasts, tweaking her nipples until she was nearly begging him for mercy.  She ran her fingers through his hair, pushing it away so she could see his eyes.  She couldn’t let this happen.  He was right, if they did this then there would be no going back.  No going back to Joe.  No going back to ‘just friends’.  She wouldn’t be able to let him go either.  Everything would be screwed up between them.  She valued his friendship too much to risk losing it – even for what she knew would be really excellent sex.  “Ranger, we can’t,” she whimpered between kisses.  

“We are,” he said, dipping his head down to suckle her breast.  He pulled at her panties until the lace came apart at the seams, the sound sending a little thrill up her spine.  She grabbed two handfuls of his t-shirt, fisting her hands in the fabric as he moved to suck her other nipple.  His fingers slid down her stomach and into her folds.  Stephanie gasped softly as his mouth came down on hers again at the same time as he slipped his fingers into her body. 

He expertly played her until she was riding his fingers in pleasure.  Just as she hung on the edge of climax he pulled his fingers from her.  She gave a ragged cry of frustration and he chuckled softly as he dropped to his knees in front of her.  He ran his hand down her right leg before lifting it and resting it over his shoulder.  Her back arched involuntarily as his fingers danced across her sensitive flesh, separating her folds gently.  He teased her with his tongue and her body bucked in response.  He licked and sucked, easing a finger into her.  Her body contracted around the digit, and she moaned in ecstasy.  She threaded her fingers through his hair, holding him closer as he pleasured her.  “God, Ranger,” she gasped, her head falling back against the wall.  He didn’t let up on her, continuing his tender assault until she climaxed with a hoarse cry. 

She braced her weight against the wall while she panted, trying to recover.  He slid her leg off his shoulder, stood up and gave her a smug smile, obviously pleased with himself.  That smile pissed her off and turned her on even more than she already was.  She pushed him back a step and grabbed the hem of his t-shirt with both hands.  For a moment she wished she had the strength to rip it off of him.  It would serve him right for ruining a perfectly nice halter top. Only he had at least a dozen black t-shirts, so shredding one wouldn’t’ mean much to him.  She pushed up his shirt, sliding her palms up his 8-pack abs and then pulling it up and over his head.  She licked her lips as she took in those wonderful, muscular shoulders. 

“See something you want, Babe?” he asked with a smirk.  She looked him over slowly then pressed herself against him and kissed him hungrily.  She fumbled a little getting his belt unbuckled and his pants opened.  Thank God he went commando!  His hands traveled over her back and hips as she pushed his pants down and squeezed his ass.  She nuzzled his neck and brought her hand down to caress his length.  Stroking him firmly, Stephanie kissed him with abandon.  If she was going to Hell for cheating on Joe she was going to make damn sure it was worth it. 

Ranger grabbed her wrist, hitting a pressure point that caused her to release him.  He twisted her arms behind her back, holding them just firm enough to restrain her but not cause her pain.  “Ranger,” she said, “what the hell?”

He spun her around and walked her forward, guiding her until her belly was up against the back of the sofa.  “You didn’t think I was done with you, did ya’ Babe?”  He put a firm hand between her shoulder blades and bent her over the couch.  He used his foot to spread her feet farther apart as if she were a skip he was going to frisk.  He leaned over her back, rubbing his 5 o’clock shadow against the side of her face.  “I’ve wanted to do this since I found you hiding out in my apartment.”  He released her arm, running his hand down it to massage the ache out of it.  Then he pushed her hair over one shoulder and nibbled on her earlobe. Capturing her hands with his, he linked their fingers together.  

She felt him grind against her as he sucked on her neck.  She couldn’t move, he had her firmly pinned between him and the sofa.  She tried to grind back on him, feeling him pressed against her butt cheeks.  God, she wanted it. He was going to make her crazy if he waited any longer. “Ranger,” she breathed, “please.” 

She could feel him smile against her skin.  “Well, since you asked so nicely.” He pushed into her in one, sure thrust, chuckling softly when he heard her gasp.  Ranger set up a hard, fast rhythm and she tried to counter him as best she could, but she didn’t have much in the way of movement with 208 pounds of Cuban sex god covering her.  “Aw, Babe you feel so good,” he groaned. 

He let go of her right hand to reach around and finger her.  She took advantage of the freedom and reached up to grab a handful of his hair, pulling him down for a sizzling kiss.  Ranger’s rhythm faltered then became harder as their passion increased.  She started to whimper as her orgasm came on, and he ground out a muffled “Christ” as he felt her body contract around his.  He rode out her orgasm and pushed her harder toward a second one as he slammed into her.  “Come on, Babe.  Come for me again,” he breathed in her ear.  She cried out in response, her back arching as her second climax took her over.  With one final thrust, he let himself go and followed her into bliss.

Chapter 3
 

Stephanie woke up to incredibly soft sheets and a warm body pressed up against her.  Where was she?  It came flooding back to her all at once.  Ranger.  Incredibly angry Ranger.  She had never seen him like that and hoped never to again. 

Mother Nature began to prod her and she tried to sneak out from under the well-muscled arm that snaked around her waist and the hand that cupped her breast.  That arm tightened and pulled her back against hot skin and firm muscle. 

“Morning, Babe.”

“Uh, hi.”

“Where you headed?”

“Bathroom.”

He released her reluctantly and she went into his bathroom and used the facilities.  She washed her hands and looked at herself in the mirror.  God, there was no way she was going to be able to show her face today.  She’d never hear the end of it.  She looked like a woman who had been well and truly satisfied.  Her eyes were crystal-bright, her skin glowed and she had whisker-burn on her neck along with several love bites.  After their episode in the living room, Ranger had slung her over a broad shoulder and carted her into the shower where he had backed her up against the tile and pounded her so hard she thought she heard that tile crack – although that could have been her rib cage.  Then, he’d washed her thoroughly, toweled her off and tossed her onto his bed for another few rounds.  She had even surprised herself as she had met him equally in passion and at one point had taken control, pushing him over on his back and driving him crazy until she straddled him and rode him to exhaustion. 

She took another inventory of herself.  Shit, she hurt all over.  He hadn’t been abusive, just demanding…and creative.  If she wasn’t feeling so awkward about the situation, and achy in so many places, she’d be rolling around on the bed purring right now.  She blew out a sigh.  Nope, she definitely wasn’t going out in public today.  As it was, she was going to have to slink home and try to stay under the radar.  If Lula saw her like this, it would be worse than the Spanish Inquisition.  Not to mention if she ran into Morelli. 

At the thought of Joe, she got a little ache in her chest.  What the hell was she going to tell Joe?

She came out of the bathroom to find Ranger sitting up in bed, the covers pooled at his waist.  He was watching her calmly and he didn’t seem particularly angry, which was a relief.  He must have noticed how awkward she was feeling because the almost-smile quirked at the corners of his mouth.  He pulled back the covers in invitation and she slipped into bed with him.  She winced as she tried to get comfortable and he looked at her with a concerned frown but didn’t say anything.

“I, uh, didn’t expect you to be here,” she said.

“I live here, Steph.”

She rolled her eyes.  “I know that, but it’s 7:00, don’t you usually run at 5:30?”

“Usually.” 

She shifted again, trying to find a spot that didn’t ache and he watched her curiously.  “So, taking the day off?” she asked.

“More or less.”

“Uh, can we talk about what happened last night?”

He looked her over for a moment then slid out of bed and walked over to his dresser, returning with a small bottle.  “Which part?” he asked as he pulled the covers from her and motioned for her to flip on her stomach.  She frowned at him but complied. 

“Pretty much the entire thing.” 

He straddled her hips and drizzled a line of the clear liquid down her spine.   Steph let out a low groan as he started rubbing her shoulders and down her back.  “Ok.”

“Well?”

He gave a little shrug.  “Bad day.”

Whatever he was using smelled like vanilla and she could feel the muscles in her shoulders and back start to loosen.  He smoothed his hands up her sides, tracing the outside curve of her breasts.  God, if he kept that up she was going to declare a national holiday to celebrate Ranger’s magic hands. 

“And?” 

He slid back to her legs and kneaded her lower back and hips with strong fingers.  “Got angry.” 

Ladies and gentlemen, Ranger Manoso, Master of Understatement. 

“Yeah, and?” she asked.

“Got over it.” 

“This is going to be one of those conversations where I do all the talking, isn’t it?”

He leaned over her body and she could feel the smile against her skin as he nibbled her earlobe.  He ran his hands the length of her torso and over her shoulders firmly. 

She gave a sigh of pleasure.  “Ok. Not that I’m complaining or anything, as I much prefer the safe and sane Ranger of this morning over the whacked out version from last night,” she couldn’t see his face but she imagined that generated at least a raised eyebrow, “but was it just the ex-wife, the bad bust and the microphone that sent you over the edge?”

He moved over to her side and started in on her thigh and calf muscles.  “On the surface it might look that way.”

“But?”

He let out a sigh.  “I see my daughter 3 times a year.  I get the weekend after Easter, one week in the summer and Christmas day.  That’s it.  My ex is using my daughter as a bargaining chip to pad her checking account.  If I don’t pay up, she’ll file papers with the family court in Miami to revoke my visitation.”

“Doesn’t she have to have grounds for that?  Can’t you contest it and get more time with your daughter?”

Ranger actually looked uncomfortable.  He hesitated before clearing his throat softly and continuing.  “Because of my past, my job and my reputation, I’m considered a risk to Julie.  My visitation with her has to be supervised.  Luckily, my sister was approved by the courts as a suitable chaperone.”

“You have supervised visitation?”

“Yes. The intel on the bust was that Reynolds was dropping a few kilos of coke with his distributor.” 

Ok, she guessed they were moving on and it looks like Mr. Bodacious Killer is named Reynolds. 

“Intel said there was just Reynolds, the distributor and two muscle.  Very straightforward.  We had a full team – me, Tank and Bobby took the front, Lester, Mike and Steele took the back and Vince and Ram each took two guys on either side.  When we hit it, I knew immediately we were fucked.  Not only was Reynolds carrying a .44 Auto-Mag but there were four other armed muscle entering from a separate room.  Lester took one in the shoulder, Steele, Mike and Kyle, who was on Ram’s team, all took one in the head.  I’m not sure if they were all from Reynolds, but at least one of them was.”

“And you were in the army with Steele, Mike and Kyle?”

He gave a slight nod.  “Met up in Basic, went through AIT and Ranger school with them.”  He got a far away look on his face. “We jumped out of planes, crawled through shit I couldn’t even identify, wrestled in the mud, got shit-faced drunk and kicked ass in bars just because we could, rappelled off cliffs, you name it.”  He swallowed audibly and his eyes got kind of glassy. “When I decided to start Rangeman, I invited them over for steaks and beers and every single one of them wanted to be in on it – no questions.  They did their jobs and they did them well.  They were good men, and good friends. And yesterday, I watched as they had their heads blown apart by some stupid punk-ass drug dealer and his buddies.”

“You weren’t able to take them down?”

“We got them all but Reynolds.  He slipped out during the fight.” He started in on her feet, putting firm pressure against her arches.  She bit back the moan that was threatening to come out.

“And last night, with…Reynolds?  You broke his neck, didn’t you?”

“Yep.”

“Is he, uh, dead?”

“No, but he should be.  The only reason he’s still breathing is that Tank doesn’t want me going down for murder.  He didn’t call an ambulance, too high-profile, but he took him to a place we know of for treatment.”  He put his hand under her right hip and rolled her over.  He took the bottle of oil and ran a line between her breasts and down her torso, stopping at her hips.

“So, what happens now, with Reynolds I mean.”

He just looked at her for a long moment, then started working the oil across her stomach.  “The microphone pissed me off for a few reasons.”  His dodging of direct questions was beginning to piss her off. 

“You didn’t answer my question.”

“The less you know about what happens to Reynolds the better.”  He slid his hands up over her ribs and then under her breasts.  “The microphone pissed me off for a few reasons.  First, it was careless.  There is no room for error when dealing with cold-blooded killers, Babe.  Lester and Bobby saw you walk out, but the guys they were hustling balked at them walking away so instead of making a scene, they signaled me that you were gone.  I go out to find Reynolds carrying you over to his car.”

“I realized that I forgot the mike when there wasn’t anyone to take him down at the door.  The only way I could think to stall for time was to stumble in the parking lot and snap the heel of my shoe.”

“Points for improvisation, but still careless.”  He ran his hands between her breasts smearing the oil across her chest and around the outside curve of her breasts.  “When you are told not to be alone with a skip, you don’t get yourself into situations like last night.  If you work for me, you follow orders. People who don’t follow orders get hurt or get others hurt.  Get careless on another job for me, and it will be the last.”  He kneaded her breasts with gentle pressure, rolling her nipples between his thumbs and index fingers when she moaned in pleasure.

“Second, it was reckless.  I know that most of the situations you find yourself in are not of your own creation.  You’re just a magnet for trouble.”  He skimmed his hands down her body; the oil making her skin slick to the touch.  “I’m also at fault here, because I keep stepping in instead of letting you fall on your ass.  Now you’re expecting me to bail you out when you find yourself in a tough spot.”

Stephanie raised her head and frowned at him.  “I do not!  And I fall on my ass plenty!”  OK, that sounded better in her head.  “I mean, I don’t go into things saying ‘Oh, Ranger will bail me out if I have a problem’.  It’s true, that I have called you on occasion when I’m in a tight spot, like Howie’s balcony, but there’s a lot of times that I don’t call.”

“Regardless, as Professor Higgins to your Eliza I’m going to be stepping back on the assists until I see that you are looking at potential problems before you step in them.  If you call me, be prepared to answer questions.  If I think it warrants my help, you’ll get it.  If not, you’re on your own.”

He massaged her left thigh.  “Finally, it was risky.  Risk is part of the job.  With everything we do there is some risk involved.  We go to pick up a skip and he pelts us with garbage or takes a shot at us.  I loan you cars, I risk not getting them back in one piece, if at all.”

“Hey!”

“But last night, you put yourself at risk for serious harm.  That is unacceptable.  If one of my men was guarding you and put you in a situation where you could be injured, they’d not only be out of a job, they’d also be in traction.” He moved to her right thigh.  “I will not tolerate you risking yourself.  Some things, like cars, are easily replaced.  I can’t replace you.  Do you understand?”

“No.”

 

He made a frustrated sound, then covered her body with his own, spreading her legs with his knees and snuggling into the cradle of her hips.  He pushed her hair out of her face. “I love you, Babe.  I don’t want to lose you to some psychotic drug dealer or anyone else.  I meant what I said last night.  You’re mine, and I’m not letting you go.”

“I don’t know about this, Ranger.  What do you want from me?”

“Love and loyalty.  That’s what I’m offering and that’s what I want in return.  I’ll be the first one to tell you that I’m not an easy person to live with.  There will be times when I have to leave town with only 20 minutes notice and might not be back for weeks.  When that happens, I won’t be able to tell you where I’m going and you’re going to have to accept that without questions.” He fingered a stray curl of her hair.  “Fair warning, I can be a selfish bastard and I don’t share, Steph.  So when you see Morelli next, make that clear or I will.”

“And does what I want matter at all?”

“Of course,” he said.  He sat back and folded his arms across his chest.  “You’re going to tell me that last night was just a good fuck and you’re going back to Joe now?”

“No!  But I’m also not going to sit here and let you dictate how this…whatever this is, goes.”  She sat up next to him. “You go from ‘work it out with Morelli’ to ‘I’m not letting you go, ever’ and I’m supposed to just go along with it?  You can’t just turn everything upside down like that Ranger.  That’s not fair.”

He gave her a blank look.  “Fair? What reality are you living in where things are fair?”  He stood up and walked over to the closet, pulling a pair of black sweat pants off a shelf.  He slipped them on and stood watching her sitting in a pool of 1000 thread count ivory Egyptian cotton.  He walked over and sat on the edge of the bed.  “Babe, I’ve wanted you for a long time.  I told you to go back to Morelli because he’s what is acceptable in your life.”  He pushed a curl behind her ear.  “I’m not.  I live in a legally gray/morally right world and that’s not where you are.  I’ve tried to stand aside, but I can’t anymore.  Last night I saw you with Reynolds and realized just how easy it would be to lose you.”

“Nothing’s going to happen to me, Ranger.”

“Something’s always happening to you, Babe.” 

He took her hand in his and pulled her up from the bed.  He tugged her into the bathroom and gave her a little push toward the sunken tub.  She narrowed her eyes at his amused-yet-smug smile. “Have a bath, it’ll help with the sore muscles. I’ll call Ella to bring up some breakfast.”

Stephanie opened a small cabinet under the sink and pulled out some herbal bath salts.  She had found them when she was snooping while hiding from the Slayers.  The label said ‘for relaxation and healing of strained muscles’.  She couldn’t say that ‘strained’ was accurate, but she could definitely attest to sore.  Although Ranger’s little rub-down had done wonders for her aching legs and lower back.  She sunk into the hot water and laid her head back on the foam bath pillow.  She could definitely get used to this.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

She must have dozed off because when she opened her eyes Ranger was leaning against the doorway watching her with hot eyes. 

“Hi,” she said.

“Have a nice soak, Babe?”

She nodded and watched him curiously as he opened the linen cabinet and pulled out a thick bath sheet.  He came back to stand by the tub.  “Breakfast is here so you might want to get out.” 

She stood up and stepped out of the tub.  The wolf grin on Ranger’s face should have made her uneasy but instead was making her hot.  She was having thoughts of dragging him into the tub with her.  She knew from experience that wet, naked Ranger was magic.  He gave her a quick rub down with the towel and then wrapped it around her body.  She tilted her head to the side as he bent down and nuzzled her neck.  He planted a soft kiss to her shoulder and then went back to the kitchen. 

Stephanie walked into the bedroom to get dressed and realized that she didn’t have anything to wear.  Ranger had shredded not only her silk halter but her panties as well.  The only thing she had was her mini skirt.  She blew out a frustrated sigh and headed for Ranger’s closet. 

She was surprised to find that Ranger owned a shirt that wasn’t black.  Just one.  She pulled out the maroon button down shirt and slipped it on, rolling back the sleeves and buttoning it up to just equal with her breasts.  If it happened to give Ranger a little cleavage peek, so much the better.  The shirt hit her a few inches above the knees so unless someone was really looking, they shouldn’t be aware that she didn’t have any panties on.   

Stephanie walked into the kitchen to see Ranger sitting at the table, picking his way through a bowl of fruit.  She sidled over and snatched a strawberry out of the bowl.  He swatted her on the butt playfully.  They ate breakfast and talked about current events. 

Ranger’s cell phone rang and he got up to answer it.  He spoke quietly and when he hung up he turned and looked at Stephanie for a long moment.  He didn’t say anything as he walked over, pulled her from the chair and slid his arms around her waist, snuggling her in for a warm hug.  She stood up on her toes and gave him a smacking kiss and they both laughed. 

Stephanie gave him a curious look when she heard someone pound on the door.  The seventh floor was secure; no one could come up unless the security guards let them.  Ranger kissed her forehead and went to answer it.

He opened the door with a wicked grin.  “Good morning, Detective Morelli.”

Chapter 4

Ranger stepped into the space between the door and the jamb, effectively blocking Morelli’s view of the inside to the apartment.  “Kind of early for a social call.”

“This is business.  We need to talk, Manoso.”

“About?”

“I heard that you had a busy day yesterday, and I’d like to ask you a few questions about it.”

“I’ll stop by the station later to fill you in.”

Morelli shook his head.  “I’m here now so I’ll save you a trip.”

Ranger leaned against the door jamb and folded his arms across his chest.  “All right, what do you want to know?”

Morelli gave him an expectant look. “Can I come in?” It was less like a question, more like a demand.

Ranger smiled.  “Not without a warrant.”

“Think I’d find anything interesting?”

The corners of Ranger’s mouth twitched into a mocking grin.  “You might think so.”

“I could get one easily, you know.  Why don’t you just save some time and invite me in.”

“Because I’m not an idiot.”  The two men stood toe to toe, both with hard eyes and friendly smiles. 

“No, you’re a psycho.” 

“Let him in, Ranger.” 

Ranger looked over his shoulder in surprise.  “You serious?”

She hesitated.  “Yes.”

Ranger seemed to think about it for a minute before stepping aside to let Morelli enter.  His voice carried an undercurrent of sarcasm as he said, “Come in, Morelli.  Always willing to cooperate with the Trenton PD.”  Joe took two steps into the apartment and froze as he saw Stephanie standing in the living room wearing nothing but an oversized men’s shirt. 

She looked from Joe to Ranger and back, shifting her weight nervously.  Morelli walked up to her slowly, his dark brown eyes taking in her tousled curls, bare legs, and narrowing when he spotted the marks on her neck.  He walked a complete circle around her, before standing in front of her.  The anger, hurt and disbelief were like a tidal wave coming from him.  It was so fierce that she couldn’t look him in the eyes for fear of what she’d see there.  “Tell me this is not what it looks like, Steph.  Tell me that you dirtied your clothes in some bounty-hunter mishap and you’re just borrowing his shirt until your clothes are clean.”  His voice had started out soft but took on a hard edge, “I’ll believe you, cupcake, just tell me that you didn’t fuck him.”

“I can’t,” she whispered.  She took a deep breath and looked up at him.  “I’m sorry, Joe. I didn’t mean to hurt you.”

“Sorry?!  You’re sorry? Well, hell Steph that just makes it all better!”  He looked back at Ranger, who was leaning against the closed door with his arms folded across his chest.  “What about you, Manoso?  You sorry too?”

“No,” he said, locking eyes with Joe, “I’m not.” 

She reached out to touch his arm but he batted her hand away.  “I told you after the Slayer thing that I needed some time to figure out my life.  To decide how I feel about us, about you…and Ranger.”

Joe rubbed his face with his hands, in an attempt to calm down.  It didn’t work. “And what? You thought instead of just telling me, you’d show me? That it?”

“No.  I just…”

“I don’t want to hear any excuses.  I don’t want to hear anything from you.  I can’t believe I wasted so much time on a whore like you.”

Tears started sliding down her cheeks. “Joe…”  she sobbed softly. 

“You hid it well, cupcake.  I’ll give you that.  Even back in school, I always thought you were a sweetheart; a nice girl.” He stepped up closer to her and hissed, “Was I really your first, Steph or were you giving it away back then too? After all you’re obviously one hell of an actress.”  He looked her up and down with disgust.  “I knew that he wanted you,” he cut his eyes to Ranger and then back to her, “But I didn’t know you’d give it up so easily.  What did he promise you?  Porsche?  New clothes?” He shook his head, “I can’t believe you’d whore yourself out like this.  I hope your mother never finds out her daughter is a worthless cunt. ”

Finally, he said something that pissed her off.  She hauled back and slapped him so hard the impact echoed through the room.  Her face was streaked with tears, but her eyes were blazing fury.  “How dare you! You have a right to be pissed, Joe, but that’s going too far.” 

He touched his stinging cheek then narrowed his eyes at her.  “Bullshit!  It’s not even close.”  He grabbed a handful of the shirt she wore and pulled her roughly up against him.  With his free hand he pulled it up by the hem, exposing her bottom and she struggled trying to get loose.  Squeezing her ass he said, “No panties, Steph?  Easy access, huh?  Maybe we ought to show the son of a bitch what it was like between us. He’s the big shot security expert, maybe he’d like to see it for real rather than just watching it on a camera.”

Ranger pushed himself off the door and stepped further into the room. He’d stayed out of it, waiting to see if she would fight back, but he’d seen, and heard, enough.  “Let her go, Joe.”

“Fuck you, Ranger.  Oh wait, Steph already took care of that, didn’t she?”

“I understand that you’re pissed, but Steph isn’t the one you should be angry with.  I didn’t give her any options last night.”

Joe let go of Stephanie with a little shove.  She stumbled backward, catching herself on the counter before she fell.  He turned on Ranger.  “You saying you forced her?”

“Yes,” said Ranger.

“No!” cried Stephanie. 

Joe stepped up to get in Ranger’s face.  His voice was quietly menacing, “Booking you for rape would make my year.  And, if I did get that warrant I’d search your house, this apartment, your office.”  He smiled but it wasn’t friendly. “Gee, I bet I’d find all kinds of interesting things.  Things that could put you away for a really long time.”

Ranger chuckled and shook his head, “It’ll never happen.”

Stephanie stepped up to them.  She grabbed Joe by the arm, “He didn’t force me, Joe.  He didn’t!  I know you don’t want to hear this, but I wanted to be with him.” She turned to Ranger, “What the freakin’ hell are you doing?! 

Neither man looked at her but they both said in unison, “Shut up, Steph.”

She looked at them like they were both crazy.  “Excuse me?!  Shut up??  Oh, I know you weren’t talking to me!”  She looked at the two of them, standing off against each other.  “Christ, I’m choking on the fucking testosterone.” Neither man moved a muscle, but she sensed that some kind of challenge was being issued.  She blew out a frustrated sigh.  “Fine.  Fine.  You want to get into some macho pissing contest,” she yelled.  “What-the-fuck-ever!  Kick each other’s asses for all I care!  I’m out of here!” 

The two of them turned their heads and watched her stomp out of the room.  She slammed the door to Ranger’s bedroom so hard that the pictures on the wall rattled. 

“You really force her, Manoso?”

“Yes.  I shoved her into my car, drug her into my apartment, slammed her up against that wall and fucked her all night.  She’s got the bruises to prove it.”  He gave Morelli a shit-eating grin, “But I doubt she’d let you see them.  Don’t worry. I kissed them all better this morning.”

“If I can pin you on rape, I will.  You’re a fucking psycho, shouldn’t be too hard to convince a judge to issue a warrant.”  He gave Ranger a challenging look, “I’d love to see you behind bars.  Maybe one of those nice guys in lock-up can make you his bitch.”

Ranger tipped his head back and laughed.  “Not likely.  You’ll take it up the ass long before I ever will, Morelli.”

Joe glared at him, “You know, I didn’t come here for this shit.  I came here to talk to you about what happened last night.  Word is that you and your fellow psychos shot six men night before last, and last night you took apart some guy in Mickey’s parking lot after a beautiful brunette lured him out.  A guy who has mysteriously gone missing.  I’m not leaving here until I get the answers, Ranger.”

Ranger folded his arms across his chest, his biceps straining the sleeves of his t-shirt.  He raised one eyebrow in amusement.  “Want to bet?”

“You threatening me?”  Joe held his arms out, in a defenseless gesture.  “Please.  Hit me.  I’d love to haul you in for assaulting a cop.”

Ranger fixed hard eyes on Joe. His voice was quiet, but the menace behind it wasn’t lost on Joe.  “One day soon, you and I will throw down, Morelli.  And when we do I’m going to really enjoy hurting you.”  Ranger smirked at him, “Unless you’re so much of a candyass that you have to hide behind your badge.”

“Any time.  Any place.  And I’ll leave my badge at home.”  He slammed his shoulder into Ranger as he stormed toward the door.

Ranger glared at him, his body tense from keeping his temper in check.  “Can’t wait.”

Chapter 5

Ranger opened the door of his room cautiously.  Several minutes before, Stephanie had stormed in royally pissed off.  He leaned against the doorway and watched as she stomped around the room, muttering to herself about “testosterone poisoning” and “macho assholes”.  She was still in his shirt, but it was so big on her that it had slipped, exposing the long line of her neck and shoulder. 

“Babe?”

She spun around to face him and shook her finger at him, “Don’t ‘Babe’ me, you macho dickhead!  I can’t believe the shit you pulled in there!”

Macho dickhead? He raised an eyebrow at that.  “And what shit would that be?”

Stephanie gaped at him as if she couldn’t believe he was that clueless.  “Oh, how about the ‘Shut up, Steph’ or the ‘I forced her’ comment?!  Are you completely out of your mind??  You do not tell a cop that you forced someone to have sex!”  She threw up her hands in frustration.  “Ugh!”

Ranger stepped into the room. “When Morelli walked in you stood there and let him call you a whore, Steph.  A whore.  You let him manhandle you.  What was that?”  She looked at the floor and didn’t answer.  He walked up to her and raised her chin up with his finger.  “You think you deserved to be treated that way?”

Her eyes pooled with unshed tears.  “He was hurt.  I hurt him, Ranger.”

“Yeah, we did,” he said.  He stroked her cheek with the back of his fingers.  “But you haven’t been living with him; you told him you wanted a break, right?”

She nodded.  “Yes.”

“Then his reaction was out of line.  It made me sick to stand there and watch you fold in on yourself.”

She sighed.  “I notice you took your time stepping in.”

He ran his hands across her shoulders and down her arms in a soothing motion.  “I told you that I wasn’t going to come to your rescue unless I thought you needed it.  I was waiting for you to knee that son of a bitch in the balls.  Next time you hit a man, don’t slap.  Punch.”

”I should have kneed you both in the balls,” she muttered. 

“Maybe so.” She looked up at him in surprise.  He continued, “I told Morelli I forced you, because I did.” She went to interrupt, but he placed his fingers on her lips and shook his head.  “I did.  You might have been willing by the time we got naked, but you didn’t start out that way.”  He took his fingers away and caressed her cheek. “I’m not going to make any excuses for my actions.  I can only promise that I won’t make a habit of it.”

Stephanie knew that was about as close as she was going to get to an apology.  She wrapped her hands around his wrists as he cradled her face.  “I take it Morelli’s gone?”  He nodded.  “You going to tell me what happened after I left?”

“No.”

“OK then, just tell me you didn’t hit him.”

“I didn’t hit him, but not because I didn’t want to.  For an Italian, he’s got a pretty good control on his reactions.  I was baiting him, hoping he’d take a swing at me.  I would have gladly kicked his ass, but I don’t need the Trenton PD sticking their nose into my business.”  He tucked a lock of hair behind her ear.  “You hit a cop before he hits you and not only do you take a ride downtown, but you get flagged as a problem.  Suddenly, every time you turn around there’s a cop watching you.  You hit a cop after he hits you, and it’s just self defense.” 

“And Morelli didn’t hit you.”

“No,” he said with disappointment.  “But eventually it will come down to that.  He lays another hand on you in anger and I’ll take my chances with the cops.”

“He won’t.  Like I said, he was just hurt and his pride might have been dented a little.”  She laid a palm on his chest.  “By lunch, word will be around that you and Morelli tried to kill each other.” 

Ranger figured that it probably wouldn’t even take that long.  “That’s OK.  I’m more concerned about how you will be portrayed in this.  You going to be able to handle the fallout?”  He knew that the Burg gossip machine could be brutal, and the most innocent statement could be turned into something completely unrecognizable.  That was evident during the recent Slayer mess. 

“Don’t worry.  It can’t be any worse than when I beat The Dick with his own tennis racquet after I found him with Joyce Barnhardt.  I got through that, and I’ll get through this.”  She gave him a half-hearted smile. “My mother’s going to need a pill, however.  I’m sure her phone is ringing off the hook even as we speak.”

He didn’t doubt it.  Ranger chuckled and laced their fingers together.  “So, we OK?”

“No.”

He looked stunned for a moment.  “No?  What’d I miss?”

“That whole caveman bullshit you laid on me last night.  You know that’s not gonna fly, right?” 

“Which part?”

“Everything from ‘I’m not letting you go, ever’ to ‘I don’t share’.” His eyes darkened at that and she quickly added, “Not that I’m talking about sharing.  There will be no sharing! But, I’m my own person with my own mind.  I make my own decisions, and I’m not going to let you bully me around.”

“Have you ever?” he asked, amused.

“No.  And just because we’re sharing a bed doesn’t mean I’m gonna start.”  She gave him a saucy smile, “Your good, but you’re not that good.”

He looked her over slowly and a sexy smile graced his face.  “Just good?” He leaned down and nuzzled her neck, kissing her just behind her ear. “Well, in my own defense, I was having a bad day yesterday.  But ‘good’ just won’t do.  My rep can’t stand on just ‘good’.”

She smiled and sifted her fingers through his hair. “Well, what are you going to do to change my opinion?”

That sexy smile morphed into a wicked grin. He pulled her in close and kissed her, a brush of lips at first but he teased her bottom lip with the tip of his tongue, coaxing her to open for him.  When she did, he deepened the kiss and slowly started walking her backward.  Stephanie let out a little gasp as her back was pressed up against the bedroom wall.

“The bed’s over there,” she said, nodding toward the king-size bed in the far corner of the room.

“Mmm-Hmm,” said Ranger as he trailed slow, wet kisses up the column of her throat.  He stroked her sides gently as he nibbled on her ear.

Her palms were pressed against his chest and she lightly moved them down to trace the 8-pack of abdominal muscles through his t-shirt.  As he kissed her again, she slid her hands under his shirt caressing the soft skin of his back.  Ranger broke the kiss and drew her hands out from under his shirt.  He gave her a wolfish grin, and lifted her hands above her head.  He snuggled his leg between her thighs. 

“Ranger?” she breathed.

“Mm?” he said as he tortured her earlobe with little licks. 

“What are you doing?”

“Improving my rep,” he said and secured both of her wrists with one strong hand.  He rubbed his 5 o’clock shadow lightly against her cheek and then followed it up with soft kisses. 

She tried to get her arms free but he wouldn’t loosen his grip.  “I want to touch you,” she whispered, kissing the underside of his chin.  She delicately scraped her teeth along his jawline, “I need to touch you, Ranger.”

“Later,” he said.  He reached down between her breasts and popped the first button open.  Tender kisses trailed down her throat and across the bare shoulder revealed by the oversize shirt while he slid his fingers into the opening, brushing them across her upper chest. 

“Now,” she replied.  She made a little whimper as he opened another button, moving his fingers down further and slipping them inside to trace the underside of her breasts. 

“When I’m finished,” he said quietly.  He opened another button, baring her down to her navel.  Ranger trailed his fingers down her torso, and drew little patterns across her belly.  He kissed her sweetly, teasing her tongue with his own.  When they broke away, his gaze traveled from her tousled hair, over her blue eyes and petal-soft lips, and down her neck.  He nudged the shirt apart with his nose in order to put light kisses across the tops of her breasts.  And he flipped another button open exposing her entire torso.

Stephanie leaned her head back against the wall and closed her eyes.  She could feel Rangers fingers sliding lower from her belly button.  There was only one button left holding the shirt together across her hips and thighs.  She knew when he opened it completely because he gently tongued her left nipple at the same time as he slid his fingers into her damp folds.   He moved his thigh out from between her legs but leaned more of his weight on her wrists against the wall.  It didn’t hurt her, but she knew she wasn’t going to be able to get out of it unless he wanted her to. 

Ranger teased her; fingering her clit until she was riding the edge of pleasure and then moving it back to play in her wetness.  He suckled her nipples, enjoying the way they peaked under his tongue.  She whimpered in frustration as he brought her to the brink for the fourth time, and then moved away.

Her body was practically vibrating; her nerves were strung tight and each little touch of his fingers sent uneven jolts of pleasure zinging up her spine.  “Ranger, please,” she panted, “I can’t take much more.”

He grinned at her, then placed small kisses from her jawline to her temple as he said, “I could have you riding my fingers all day, but I can think of other things that would be just as fun.”  He dipped his head down and captured her lips in a sizzling kiss.  The kiss muffled her cries of passion as he had slipped two of his fingers into her body and pressed his thumb against her clit.  Her orgasm hit so hard that she nearly blacked out, her body suspended in a web of pleasure.  Ranger continued to kiss her, moving his tongue into her mouth in concert with his fingers into her heat.     

He released her hands as she calmed and withdrew his fingers from her.  He smiled as he took in her flushed complexion and passion-glazed eyes.  “So, still just ‘good’?” he asked.

“Gah!” she said and thunked the back of her head against the wall.  He laughed. 

“You know that was just the warm-up, right?”

“Oh, boy.” 

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Stephanie fell face-first onto the mattress.  If someone had offered her $1 million dollars to stand up at that moment, she still couldn’t have done it.  She could feel a drop of sweat trickle down her neck, but she just couldn’t bring herself to exert the energy to wipe it off.  Ranger had teased her unmercifully then brought her to an earth-moving orgasm, and called that a warm-up.  And, in a way it was.  Because what he did after….there are just no words for what he did after.  Ok, there might have been some words. But her brain was so pleasure-fried she just couldn’t think of them. 

A hard, strong body covered her and a warm chuckle tickled in her ear.  “Babe?”

“Mmmhmmm,” she mumbled.

“It’s 3 o’clock in the afternoon.  I need to make an appearance in the control room; talk to Tank and get an update on our accounts.”

“Hmmmmmm.”

“You want me to call Ella to send up a sandwich or something else to eat?”

“Uhhhuhhh.”

He laughed.  “So since I’ve reduced you to one-word sentences, does this mean my rep is in the “well-above good” zone now?”

She lifted her head slightly to look at him.  “Fishing for compliments?”  He smiled.  “After your performance this afternoon, I’ve elevated your status.”

“You have?” he asked.

She nodded and stretched, rolling over onto her back.  He splayed a large hand over her lower belly, rubbing in slow circles.  “Yes.  You want to hear me say it out loud?”

He gave her an indulgent grin. “Only if you think I really deserve it, Babe.”

“Oh yeah, you earned it.”  She tilted her head back and yelled, “Ranger Manoso is a SEX GOD!”

He hugged her to him and kissed her shoulder with a laugh. “You never disappoint.  I can always count on you to make my day.”  He pulled away and tapped another kiss between her breasts. “If I don’t go now, I’ll never leave.”

She smiled at him coyly, “And that would be bad?”

“Only if you don’t care if Tank walks in here looking for me.”

Her eyes widened as she pictured Tank walking in on the things they had done during the afternoon.  Oh yes, that would be bad.  Very, very bad.  She’d never be able to look him in the face again.  Too embarrassing.  She shooed Ranger out the door, “Go, go now. Before they send out a search party or something.”

He gave her one last kiss and then headed out the door.  Stephanie rolled around on the bed, replaying the last 24 hours in her head.  Excluding the awful half-hour that she’d had to face Joe, it had been the best day of her life.  If she didn’t have sex again for the rest of the year, she’d probably still be satisfied.  Lucky for her, she didn’t think Ranger would wait that long.  Maybe an hour, maybe less.  She debated on whether or not to stay in bed and wait for him, but eventually decided to get up and head for a shower.  It was time to face the day.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

AN:  Taken from the movie “What Women Want” (2000).  Scene:  Marisa Tomei is in bed with Mel Gibson.  Their first go-round, she was disappointed but the second time, he was listening to all of her thoughts and at the end of the scene she thinks “Nick Marshall is a SEX GOD!”

Chapter 6

Tank closed out of the scheduling software he was using to plan out the next workweek and pushed back from his desk. He leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes; too much computer time had given him a case of blurry vision.  His mother had been nagging him to go to the eye doctor, but there was no way in hell he was wearing glasses and that’s probably what the doctor would recommend.  But it wasn’t going to happen.  Badass mercenaries did NOT wear glasses.   

A terse knock on his door made him open his eyes.  “Come in, Ranger.”  Ranger was the only one who only knocked once.  Everyone else either knocked twice or tried to be cute with the musical knock.  As soon as Ranger walked through the door, Tank had to smile.  Boss-man got laid.  Seriously laid, too, if the look in his eyes was any indication.  He was pretty sure that Stephanie Plum was wearing a similar look.  ‘Bout damn time. 

Ranger sat down in the chair opposite Tank’s desk and slouched down to get comfortable.  “Just checking in.  Anything going on?” 

Tank knew what time it was but looked at his watch then back up to Ranger. “It’s 15:10.  Kind of late, don’t you think?”

Ranger gave him a sly grin.  “Personal business.”

Tank laughed.  “Yeah, and I bet that ‘personal business’ is about 5’7” with dark, curly hair and a body that could stop traffic.  You know, after the way you treated her last night, I’m surprised you aren’t sportin’ at least a black eye.”  He leaned forward and propped his arms on the desk.  “She was so stunned that you kicked Reynolds’ ass, I don’t think she even realized it was you who pulled her off that car.”

“No, but she snapped out of it pretty quick.” 

“Asked a million questions?”

“Felt like it.”

“I haven’t seen you that pissed off in a long while. How’d she deal with that?”

“Better than I thought she would.” 

“She didn’t cry or try to hide when she realized how far gone you were?”

“Steph?” Ranger asked, clearly surprised that he would expect that reaction from Stephanie.

“Never mind.”  Tank shook his head, “Man, you’re just lucky there wasn’t a black-and-white in the neighborhood the way you tore out of there.  How fast did you get before she freaked out?  80?  90?.”

“105,” said Ranger with a smile.  “Luckily the TPD doesn’t have anything that can hit that speed, otherwise I might have several red-light violations to deal with today.”

“Shit man, they don’t have to catch you.  Who the hell else in town drives a $100,000 black Porsche?”  Ranger just shrugged. “If the boys in blue didn’t like you for catching the really bad guys and making their jobs easier, you’d be up to your ass in paperwork right now.”

Ranger sighed and ran a hand over his face.  “Well, there’s one cop who’s gonna be looking for an opportunity to tag me with something.”

“Yeah, I saw the log.  Got ugly, huh?”  Ranger nodded.  “Steph get into the middle of it?”

“You know she tried.  Morelli and I pissed her off enough to get her out of the room before it got too out of hand.”

“Physical?”

“Nah, just verbal…so far.  Morelli’s hot-headed, and he doesn’t like losing.  I figure I’ll be hearing from him soon enough.”

They both stood up and headed for the door.  Tank put his massive hand on Ranger’s shoulder.  “Got your back, Carlos.  You know that.” 

“Yeah, I know.”

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Stephanie stepped out of Ranger’s shower and snagged a towel from the nearby shelf.  A night of earth-shattering sex, a luxurious bubble bath, an afternoon of mind-blowing sex and a Bulgari-enhanced, dual massage shower made for a very satisfied girl.  She dried off and slipped into Ranger’s soft, thick robe.  She combed through her hair, finally deciding that a ponytail was the way to go since all of her curl-taming products were at her apartment. 

She went into Ranger’s closet to look for something to wear.  She could pair her skirt from last night with one of Ranger’s shirts, but going commando in a mini-skirt wasn’t really her style.  She pulled down a pair of sweat pants and a hooded sweatshirt and put them on.  The pants were way too big for her, so she rolled the waistband to keep them up, and the sweatshirt was so long that it covered her down to mid-thigh.  She pushed the sleeves up and looked around for shoes.  Her black vinyl FMPs from the night before weren’t going to work with sweats, but Ranger wore a size 11 shoe and there was no way she’d be able to walk in those.  Finally, she just put on a pair of his gym socks.  If she wore holes in them from walking outside, she’d buy him a new pair. 

When she walked into the kitchen, there was a turkey sandwich and a snack bag of Doritos on the counter for her.  Ella was a goddess.  Stephanie poured herself a glass of lemonade and sat down to eat her lunch.  When she was finished, she washed the plate and glass, dried them and put them away.  She went over to the sideboard table and wrote Ranger a little note.

Ranger,

Went home to feed Rex and change clothes.  I’m going to have to borrow a car.  Will try to return it in one piece.  Call me. 

Love,

Steph

Steph grabbed her purse and a set of Ranger’s keys off of the sideboard table and headed down to the garage.  She wasn’t sure which keys she had so she hit the unlock button on the key fob.  A chirp and tail lights flashed on the BMW 830ci.  She thought she’d picked up the keys to the Cayenne, but this was so much cooler.  No piddly SUV for her; she was cruising in the Batmobile!  She’d done some checking on this car when Uncle Mo had stolen it.  It was a development model and there were only 18 of them ever made; the car was worth over $200,000.  She hesitated before opening the door, not sure if she wanted to risk Ranger’s pride and joy.  She wavered with indecision: take a Cayenne he’s not likely to miss or drive the mother of all badass cars?  Stay under the radar or flaunt her borrowed cool? 

She opened the door and angled in behind the wheel, letting out a moan of satisfaction as the leather seat cushioned her body.  She put the key in the ignition and rolled the engine over.  A rumbling purr echoed in the garage in response and she pulled on her seatbelt and adjusted the mirrors.  She’d always wanted to drive this car.  This car was the shit.

She turned out of the garage and onto Hamilton, heading for her apartment.  Just as she reached the first stoplight, her cell phone rang.  She had a feeling she knew who was calling.

She picked it up and hit the answer button.  “Yo.”

“Babe.”

“Hey, Ranger!”

“I’ve got a dozen cars in the garage.  You had to take the 830ci?”

“I picked a set of keys out of the tray and just got lucky,” she said.  She was trying to gauge his response.  He didn’t sound angry, but maybe a little worried.  Not so much for her as for the car.

“Bring the car back, Steph.  You can take the Turbo instead.”  Yep, definitely worried.

“But I’m half-way home.  Look, I promise I won’t get a scratch on it. Swear to God!”

“You better hope not, Babe.  People have gone missing for a lot less.”

Somehow she didn’t think he was kidding.  “I’m just going to change clothes and then I’ll bring your precious baby back, OK?”

She could hear the smile in his voice then. “You better bring a few changes of clothes.  You’re gonna owe me for this one.”

She smiled in return.  “Deal.  After all, I always pay my debts.”

“Counting on it.  Don’t park by the Dumpster when you get to your lot.  Take the two slots over by the fence.”

“Two slots?  This car isn’t that big, Ranger.”

“I don’t want one of those seniors sideswiping it with their Cadillac.  Two slots, Steph.”

She chuckled, “OK.  OK.  I should be back within an hour.”

“Don’t make me come looking for you.”

Oh no.  She wasn’t going to risk pissing him off again.  Been there, done that.  “Gotcha.  See you soon,” she said, then hung up.

She pulled into her parking lot and parked the car diagonally across the two parking spaces Ranger had mentioned.  She got out of the car, hit the remote locks and alarm and took the elevator up to her apartment. 

The elevator door opened and Mrs. Bestler smiled at her. “Going up?” she asked and Steph nodded as she stepped into the car.  Ms. Bestler hit the button for the second floor.  When the car stopped and the door opened, she said “Second floor, lingerie, sex toys and satin sheets.”  Stephanie stepped out of the car and turned to Mrs. Bestler in surprise.  The old lady smiled and winked at her as the doors slowly shut. 

Oh, man.  She really needed to do something about this afterglow.  When the old people knew what was going on that was a bad sign.  She let herself into her apartment and tapped on Rex’s cage.  He scuttled out of his soup can and twitched his whiskers at her as if to say, “About time you remembered me.”  She dropped some hamster nuggets and a grape into Rex’s cage and headed for her bedroom. 

She shucked off Ranger’s sweats and folded them to take back to his apartment later.  Flipping through her closet, she tried to figure out what to wear to downplay the sexed-out look she was sporting.  Black would just make it worse, since it washed her out and that would make her flushed cheeks even more noticeable.  Blue would make her eyes even brighter and they were already pretty bright as it was.  Finally, she settled on a rose-colored turtleneck and faded blue jeans.  The rose coloring mirrored her cheeks so she could play that off as blusher, it flattered her eyes without making them stand out too brightly and most importantly it covered the three hickeys on her neck.  She slipped on a pair of black leather ankle boots with a 2-inch square heel.

She reached into the top shelf of her closet and pulled down her small duffle bag.  She stuffed his sweats into it and then got together all of the things she’d need for a few days with Ranger.  Tossing in 3 pairs of pants, 3 shirts, socks and underwear, she went though her mental checklist to make sure she had everything else.  Birth control pills?  Check.  Dolce Vita?  Check.  Black lace babydoll nightie.  Check.  She tossed in her makeup kit and hair necessities, zipped up the bag and headed for the door. 

Stephanie took the stairs to avoid Mrs. Bestler and headed out to the parking lot.  She walked all the way around Ranger’s BMW to make sure there weren’t any scratches, dents or scuff marks.  Everything looked to be OK, so she slid in behind the wheel, tossed her duffle into the back and cruised out of the lot, heading for Vinnie’s office.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Ranger slumped into a chair in front of a group of monitors.  He watched as the jewelry store went through their afternoon register changing procedures.  Everything appeared to be online and going well.  He looked up as he heard Tank tell Ram to get a team together. 

Tank was in the process of strapping on a flak vest when he stepped up next to Ranger.  “We got a line on Randy Poole.”  He handed Ranger the file. 

Ranger flipped it open and scanned the charges.  “Assault, attempted murder, rape and child molestation.”  His face darkened and he stood up.  “A model citizen,” he said, dryly.  “Everybody gear up.” 

The guy was worth a quarter of a million dollars.  Dead or alive.  If it had just been assault and attempted murder, there would have been no question that he’d be taken alive.  But with rape and child molestation involved, the odds went down considerably.  None of the Rangemen tolerated violence against women and children well.  Ranger, having a child of his own, least of all. 

He strode to his office, grabbed his flak vest and his back-up gun.  He slid the Beretta 9mm into his waistband at the small of his back and grabbed an extra clip.  He stepped out into the hall to see Tank, Ram, Hal, Cal, Lester, Bobby and Junior waiting for him.  All focused, all armed and all ready to rumble.  They took the elevator to the garage and piled into the two black Ford Excursions.  As Ranger put the SUV in gear, Tank filled him in on their destination.

“The manager of the 24-hour Fitness Center on Roebling spotted Poole walking into the main gym to work out.  All he asks is that this time, we try not to damage the building.”

Ranger cut his eyes over to Tank and a small smile twitched at the corners of his mouth.  “Guess you’ll have to stop yourself from ramming his head into the full length wall mirror like you did Moralez last month.”

“That was totally justified.  The little bastard spit at me,” said Tank, but he couldn’t stop the grin that spread across his face. 

Bobby chimed in from the backseat.  “We get this asshole alive, you want us to call in Hector for a little payback?”  Tank chuckled and Ranger just shook his head.  “What?  That’s what we did to the last predator we caught.  Hector had fun with him before we took him to the police station.” 

The eight of them arrived at the fitness center and formulated a plan.  Ranger and Tank would go through the front door, Lester & Bobby would take the left entrance, Ram & Junior the right entrance and Hal & Cal would take the rear. 

They all converged on the gym at the same time, Tank immediately spotted Poole on a mat in the far corner punching a heavy bag.  Casually, they cut off his exit possibilities and isolated him from the rest of the gym’s clients.  Many people working out stopped what they were doing to watch.  Poole continued to hit the bag, oblivious to what was happening behind him. 

Ranger nudged Tank with an elbow and nodded toward Poole.  Tank stepped up behind him.  “Randy Poole,” Tank said with his deep “badass” voice that made drug dealers wet their pants. 

Poole looked behind him and then up slowly to meet eyes with Tank.  He went pale and shifted nervously.  He slid his gaze to the side entrance and swallowed hard when he saw Ram & Junior standing shoulder-to-shoulder and blocking the door.  He whipped his head to the other side and saw Lester & Bobby doing the same.  He dodged Tank and tried to run, but was thrown backward by Ranger’s boot planted in his chest.  He hit the mat hard but didn’t have time to finish coughing before he was hauled to his feet and slammed face first into the wall mirror.  His nose crunched against the glass and blood spurted down his face, smearing all over the mirror. 

Tank wrenched Poole’s arms behind him and cuffed them tightly.  Poole tried to get away but every time he struggled he was slammed against the glass again.  Blood was dripping from his nose and mouth and a bruise was blossoming on his forehead.  Tank shoved him toward Lester and Bobby.

“Get this piece of shit out of my sight,” he said.  Lester grabbed Poole by the collar of his shirt and pulled him forward.  Bobby, walking behind, kicked Poole’s knee out from under him.

“Wow, you’re kind of a klutz aren’t you?” said Bobby.  Lester gave Bobby a smirk as he hauled Poole to his feet again.  They both pushed Poole into the steel exit door.  “Oops.  Sorry, guess I should have opened it first, huh?”

Ranger watched the whole exchange with a mixture of exasperation and amusement. “Stop fucking with him and just load him into the truck.”  Both Bobby and Lester gave him shit-eating grins as they yanked Poole out the door.

Tank looked at Ranger and then at the bloody mirror.  “At least I didn’t break it this time,” said Tank.

Ranger and Tank turned to leave but came face-to-face with Morelli, who had apparently been working out on one of the machines.  Morelli nodded toward the door Poole had been taken through.  “Impressive bust,” said Morelli sarcastically.  “Not exactly up to the standards of the Trenton PD, though.  We don’t beat our prisoners up.  But then, you don’t have much of a moral code, Manoso.  Isn’t that right?”

Tank looked from Morelli’s angry face to Ranger’s blank one.  Looked like shit was about to hit the fan.  Tank took one step back and to the left to stand behind Ranger. 

Ranger didn’t respond, so Morelli continued.  “You’ve had a pretty full day, Ranger,” he said conversationally.  “Shot a room full of drug dealers, kicked the crap out of Reynolds, disposed of him somewhere or had your goon squad do it, forced yourself on Steph and somehow convinced her to defend you.  Anything else I might have missed?”

Ranger smiled, but it wasn’t even remotely friendly.  “Don’t forget, got laid all afternoon by a beautiful brunette.  Oh, and kicked the shit out of a cop.  Although that one hasn’t happened yet.”

Chapter 7

Morelli folded his arms across his chest.  “You think you’re going to kick my ass?” he said in surprise.  “I’m not some beat cop with an overweight gut from eating too many doughnuts, Manoso.  I take down guys your size all the time.”

Ranger mirrored Joe’s stance, amusement showing clearly on his face.  “Really?” he replied with mock surprise.  “Well, maybe you’d like to give me a demonstration.”  He motioned Morelli over to the floor mat in the center of the room.  “If you’re so sure you can take me.”

Both men moved toward the mat.  Joe grabbed the hem of his sweatshirt and pulled it over his head.  Ranger slid off his shoulder holster and handed it and his backup gun to Tank.  He reached over his shoulder, grabbed the back of his shirt and pulled it over his head.  He tossed that to Tank as well. 

Tank watched as Ranger unlaced his Bates boots.  “Ranger, this is not the way to go with this.  He’s a cop.  You lay one hand on him and you’re going downtown.  Think about this, man.”

Morelli kicked off his shoes and peeled off his socks.  “Don’t worry about your boss, Tank.  I left my badge at home today.  As long as we’re in this building, I’m just a guy who wants to kick your boss’ ass for fucking my woman.”

Tank looked from Morelli to Ranger and back, then shook his head in disbelief.  “Oh, this is going to end well,” he said sarcastically.  “Should I call to have an ambulance on standby?”

“Yeah,” said Ranger.  “By the time they get here, he’ll need one.”

“Better make it two,” said Morelli.  “If I’m going out, so is he.”

Tank walked over to the other Rangemen standing against the far wall.  “Better get comfortable.  Looks like they got some issues to work out.”

Ram and Junior looked at each other, grinned and then looked at Tank.  “This is gonna be some shit, man.  I haven’t seen Ranger take somebody to school in a long, damn time,” said Junior.  He and Ram staked out a spot on a nearby bench.  Hal and Cal came over to join them. 

“Should they really be doing this?” asked Hal.  “Maybe one of us should call Stephanie.”

Tank turned to look at him as if he were crazy.  “No.  Under no circumstances should Stephanie witness this.  If it goes down how I think it will, this is the last place she needs to be.”

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Stephanie parked the BMW in the small lot behind Vinnie’s.  She parked parallel across three spaces to make sure no one got too close to it.  She didn’t figure Vinnie would say anything since it was Ranger’s car.  He might be a slimy ferret, but he wasn’t a stupid slimy ferret.

She walked into the office to see Connie stroking on the top coat to her manicure and Lula pretending to file.  “Hey,” she said.

Lula looked her up and down slowly.  “Girl, sit your ass down and tell us just who the hell iced your cake last night.  And don’t give me no bullshit that it was Morelli.”  Her head and finger both shook side to side alternately.  “Ain’t no time Morelli has ever put that look on your face.”

Crap.  Steph tried to play innocent.  “What look?” she asked in mock surprise.  Lula just folded her arms underneath her ample breasts and cocked a hip.  She gave Stephanie an impatient look.

Steph cursed under her breath.  Lula wasn’t buying it. Connie neither.  Time for Plan B.  “I, uh, bought a new toy and decided to try it out last night?”

“A new toy?”  Lula shook her head. “That is some sad, sad shit.  Ain’t no toy ever made gonna put that kind of fucked-out look on a woman.  Try again.”

Stephanie sighed.  Best to just get it over with.  She held up her hands in surrender.  “OK, OK.  I went out last night and hooked up with this really hot guy I met over at Shanahan’s pub.  I don’t even remember his name, but he was..spectacular.”  She peeked over to see if they were buying it.  Connie and Lula looked at each other, then at Stephanie.

“OK girlfriend, you want to keep him a secret for awhile.  We gonna be your friends and back off.”  Lula held up a hand.  “But.  I will find out who it was.  One way or another.”

Connie smiled.  “Secrets in the Burg don’t stay secrets for long.”  Stephanie inwardly cringed.  She knew that better than anyone.  She just wanted to keep it a secret for, maybe 10 or 20 more years.  Morelli will probably be married, her mother might be dead then and no one would care that she got horizontal, and vertical, and well, diagonal with Batman. 

The phone rang and Connie blew quickly across her nails before she picked it up.  “Plum Bail Bonds,” she said cheerily.  Her face went from politely friendly to stunned to shocked to catatonic in about 8 seconds.  “Are you serious?  No bullshit?  Holy crapola!  We’re on our way.  Yeah, she’s here.  Save us a good seat! We’ll be there in 5 minutes.”

Connie slammed the phone down on the desk, manicure be damned.  “Grab your jackets and let’s get the hell out of here, right now!”  She tossed her jacket over her shoulder, grabbed Lula by the arm and shoved her out the front door.  “Move!  If we don’t hurry it’ll be over and we’ll have missed it.  I’ve been waiting for years to see him like this and I’m not missing it even if I have to drag both your asses behind my car.”

“What are you talking about?” asked Stephanie.

“What am I talking about?!  Ranger.  Stripped down to just his cargo pants.  Getting ready to pound Morelli into paste at the 24-hour Fitness Center.”

Stephanie stood in utter shock.  Ranger.  Morelli.  Fighting?!  Fuuuuucckk.

Lula stopped moving so fast that Stephanie ran right into her.  She whipped her head around toward Connie.  “Ranger’s NAKED?!  Ranger’s going to be fighting naked?!”  She pushed both of them back behind her.  “Don’t just be standing here!  Move yo’ ass!  I’m gonna see that fine mocha-latte body in action.  Then, if I die in my sleep tonight, I’ll be a happy woman!” 

‘They’re not going to be naked,” grumbled Stephanie as she followed them over to Lula’s Firebird.  “Just, mostly.”  Oh, this was so bad. She was really thinking of just going home and hiding under her covers until this was over. 

Connie jumped into the backseat and Steph got into the passenger side.  Lula fired up the engine and burned rubber out of the lot headed for the fitness center.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Ranger and Morelli circled each other on the mat, sizing up the competition.  All of the clients and employees in the gym had whipped out their cell phones as soon as the two had faced off and called everyone they knew.  There were cars screeching to a stop in front of the gym.  The parking lot that had been half-empty was now filling up so quickly that they were clogging the aisles.  People were parking their cars wherever they happened to be stopped and running for the gym door. 

Morelli circled again, looking for an opportunity to take Ranger down.  He didn’t just want to hit him, he wanted to hurt him. 

Ranger kept his eyes on Morelli, waiting to see what he was planning to throw out first.  He was still pissed about what Morelli said to Stephanie earlier that morning and decided that the cop needed an old-fashioned ass kicking, and he knew just how to do that.

Suddenly, Morelli struck out and slammed his fist into Ranger’s face.  The punch rocked Ranger and he took a step back to maintain his balance.  He stretched his jaw a little and cracked the small bones in his neck to alleviate the sting.  “Nice,” Ranger said.  “Navy?”

Morelli smiled, “Yeah.  Boxed for 3 years. Middle-weight champ for 2.”  

“Impressive.”  Ranger spun quickly and landed a round-house kick to the side of Morelli’s head.  Morelli staggered backwards, dazed.  Ranger grinned. “Fifth-degree black belt. Ultimate Ranger champion 4 years, consecutively.”

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Lula hit Roebling doing 60 mph and the Firebird slid around a corner, fish-tailed and then straightened out.  As they approached the gym, Lula slammed on the brakes.  “Holy shit on a shingle!” said Connie.  “The whole Burg is here!”

Stephanie thunked her head on the dash.  This was SO much worse than she thought.  There were cars everywhere.  The parking lot had overflowed and the street was filling up. 

“Oh, nuh-uh.  I am not missing Ranger’s half-naked fine ass in action for NO body.” She gunned the engine and wrenched the steering wheel, bringing the Firebird up on the sidewalk.  She drove around the sea of cars and onto the grass median strip that separated the gym parking lot from the street.  She parked on the grass strip and jumped out of the car.  “Hurry the hell up.  I don’t want to miss it!”

The girls scrambled out of the car and followed Lula toward the gym.  People were crowding in through every door.  Lula elbowed an old lady in the ribs.  “Move it, granny.”  She got past the old lady only to run up against a wall of people.  Lula and Connie tried to peek over their shoulders.

“This isn’t going to work,” said Connie.  “I can’t see anything.”

“I don’t want to see anything,” mumbled Steph.

Lula grabbed Stephanie by the wrist.  “Girlfriend, get yourself up here.  You’re our ticket to the front row.”  She tapped the large man in front of her.  “Hey!  Move your lard ass.  This here’s Stephanie Plum and unless I’ve totally lost my mind, this whole thing going down is because of her.  So her little butt needs to be in the front row.”  She nudged him in the gut.  “Now, move.”

Word traveled through the gym that Stephanie was in the building and it was like the parting of the Red Sea.  An aisle opened up where there had just been bodies before.  Lula grabbed one arm and Connie the other and they both dragged Stephanie through the crowd and toward the sparring area. 

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

The whispering picked up in volume and intensity and Tank finally figured out what everyone was so keyed up about.  Stephanie was in the building.  Shit.  He motioned for Hal, Cal and Ram to follow and they made their way across the gym to where the crowd was moving aside. 

Stephanie was pushed through the throng and stumbled a little.  Tank reached out and steadied her with a hand on her elbow.  “Stephanie, you shouldn’t be here,” he said.  “You need to leave.”

Lula came up behind Stephanie and glared at Tank.  “Mr. Tank, move aside.  Steph here has a right to see this.”

Tank cut his eyes to the Rangemen and they lined up in front of the women, blocking whatever view they might have had.  “I don’t want to be rude, ladies.  But this is not the place for you.  Please don’t make me move you.”

Stephanie held up her hands. “I don’t want to be here.” She turned to leave, “I’ll be happy to leave.”  She took two steps before she was grabbed by the back of her jacket by Lula.

“Hold on here.  Everyone else within 5 miles shows up and we are the only ones who have to leave.  Oh, I don’t think so!”  She stepped up to Tank.  “Mr. Tank.  I think you are one fine specimen of a man. And, considering I got plans for your fine ass one day, I’d hate to do anything that might mess that up.  But my girl needs to see what’s going on with her men.  So either you move aside, or I’m gonna have to give you a Stark Street Special.”

Chapter 8

Tank couldn’t help himself, he laughed.  “Ms. Lula, I’ve been to Stark Street and I have a healthy respect for that ‘special’.  But, my main concern is for Stephanie right now.  This is not a good situation and I feel that she shouldn’t have to witness it.” 

Lula put her hands on her hips. “So what? You’re going to make her leave and then she’ll just have to hear about it for the next 6 months instead of watching it for herself?”

Stephanie shook her head.  “No.  Don’t want to watch.  Don’t want to know.” 

“Oh, come on Stephanie!  It’s your chance to see Ranger without his shirt on!” said Connie. 

“I’ve already seen him without his clothes.  Joe too--“ Stephanie stopped suddenly when she saw both Lula and Connie staring at her in open-mouth shock.  She thought back over what she just said and then realized.  “Oh, crap!”

“Batman!  You got naked and sweaty with BATMAN?!” yelled Lula.  “And you didn’t tell me?!  Holy shit!  Batman!”  She looked at Stephanie with pride.  “You go, girlfriend!”

Stephanie leaned her forehead against Tank’s massive chest.  “Tank, just shoot me,” she muttered.

Tank awkwardly patted Stephanie on the shoulder.  “Come on, Steph.  You might as well come with us since, from the way this place is packed, you’re not going to get out anytime soon.”

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Joe slammed another uppercut punch to Ranger’s kidneys and he smiled when he heard him grunt with pain.  They had been trading blows for the better part of fifteen minutes.  Joe already knew his nose was broken and he probably had one hell of a shiner on his right eye.  His left shoulder was throbbing from a high crescent kick Ranger caught him with.  He was pretty sure Ranger had at least one broken rib.  Ranger wiped the back of his hand across his mouth, smearing the blood from his split lip.  Joe had gotten him in the mouth with a left jab, right hook combination.

“What’s the matter, Manoso? You’re not getting tired already, are you?”

Ranger grinned and slugged Morelli in the face.  “Actually, I am a little tired.  That’s what happens when you make love to a beautiful woman all afternoon.”

Morelli countered with another punch to Ranger’s gut.  “Yeah, I’ve ridden her all night.  She can go the distance, no problem.  No surprise there though, whores are like that.”

Ranger hooked his arm under Morelli’s and around his shoulder.  “I’m going to give you fair warning, Joe.  That’s the last time you want to call her that.”  He threw his weight into the hold and flipped Morelli over, slamming his back down on the mat with a resounding smack.  Joe coughed as all of the air whooshed out of his lungs.  

There was a collective gasp from the crowd, and then cheers and jeers followed.  The crowd was mostly pro-Morelli as Burgers favored their own.  But the entire Rangeman crew, day, swing and graveyard shifts, had muscled their way into the throng and had staked out a section on one side of the room. 

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Tank put a protective arm around Stephanie’s shoulders and walked her across the room to where the Rangeman crew was cheering their boss on. 

They passed Carl Costanza and Big Dog placing bets against Lester and Bobby, who had dropped Poole off at the jail and then raced back when they heard about the fight.  “I got a C-note on Morelli,” said Big Dog.  “I’ve sparred with him before and that Italian hits hard.”

Lester shook his head.  “I almost feel bad betting with you.  I’ve known Ranger for a lot of years.  He doesn’t lose.  Ever.”  He slapped down a hundred dollar bill.  “But I said ‘almost’.  If you guys want to give up your cash, I know I can find a good way to spend it.”

Tank and Stephanie led the group.  Lula and Connie were behind them, being gently prodded along by Hal & Ram as they kept stopping to gawk at Ranger and Morelli.  “Ladies, let’s get some seats,” said Ram.  “You’ll have plenty of time to stare later.  Blocking these people’s view is probably not the smart thing to do.”

As Ranger swept Morelli’s legs out from under him and he hit the mat, a voice cut through the din.  “Whoo-hoo! That’s the way! I got two hundred dollars on the hot bounty hunter with the great package!”

Stephanie stopped dead in her tracks and stared.  “Grandma?!” she shrieked. “What the heck are you doing here?”

“Hoping to win a lot of money,” Grandma said, giddily.  “Sally Sweet’s betting on Morelli so whichever of us wins is treating the other to a night in Atlantic City.”

“Oh crap,” said Stephanie.  “Could this just get any worse?”

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Ranger landed a vicious snap kick to Morelli’s rib cage and smiled as he heard Joe hiss in pain.  He followed it up with a reverse round-house kick that caught Morelli across the shoulder, sending him sprawling to the mat.  The crowd roared in both delight and disapproval.  There was much shouting for Morelli to get back on his feet.   Both Ranger and Morelli had been trading words since the fight began, but with the noise of the crowd, no one could hear what they were saying. 

Joe stood up, grimacing in pain.  He set his feet and motioned for Ranger to bring it on.  “Come on, we’re not even close to being finished.”  He took a high swing that Ranger ducked and countered with a rib punch.  Joe sent another uppercut jab to Ranger’s kidneys.  “So, did she suck you off?” he sneered, “she’s good at that.”

Ranger feigned a punch to Morelli’s face, intentionally missing with his fist and catching him across the jaw with an elbow slam instead.  Morelli stumbled back from the impact.  “Actually, no.  We didn’t get to that.  Although I did have her dancing on my tongue quite a bit.  I always love hearing her scream my name.” He gave Joe an evil grin, “Yeah, I found out she was a screamer a few months ago during that shit with Abuzzi.  She said that I ruined her for all other men that night.”

Ranger saw he had landed a direct hit.  The color came up in Joe’s face and he charged at Ranger.  Ranger stuck his foot in Morelli’s stomach and rolled backwards, sending Morelli flying over his head.  Joe landed on his back a few feet away.  Ranger flipped himself back up to his feet and stood in a ready stance, waiting for Joe to get up.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Tank pulled up a few chairs for Stephanie, Lula and Connie.  He sat down next to Steph and watched her watch the action on the mat.  “They’ve been at this for over 20 minutes now.”

“How did this happen?” said Stephanie in frustration.  “Who started it?”

“Our crew made a bust and afterward, Morelli confronted Ranger.  They traded some words and decided to step it up.”

Stephanie stared as she watched the two of them hit each other.  She gasped as Ranger tossed Morelli over his head and bit her lip with worry when Joe didn’t get up right away.  Her stomach was knotting up with anxiety.  She wanted to run or look away but it was like a train wreck.  As bad as it was, she just had to look.  They both looked edible, even though they also looked like they needed a doctor or several.  Joe’s sweat pants had slipped down to hang low on his hips, showing the band of his shorts and his hair was sweaty and getting a little curly around his neck.  He had one hell of a black eye and it looked like his nose was broken.  Fist size bruises were showing up along his six-pack stomach.

She studied Ranger too.  His cargo pants were sitting low on his hips too, but unlike Joe who wore boxer briefs, Ranger went commando so the part where his eight-pack met up with his hip bones was plainly visible.  He was covered with a light sheen of sweat and a section of his ribs and back was red and quickly turning blue and purple.  His perfectly shaped lips were slightly swollen and bloody where his bottom one had split open.  Just a few short hours ago, she had been kissing those perfect lips. 

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Joe took a deep breath and a mental inventory of himself.  He’d hit the mat pretty hard but he wasn’t that hurt.  He got up slowly and faced Ranger.  “I’m tired of playing games with you, Manoso.  Let’s finish this.”

“You sure you want to quit playing?  I’ve been letting you get some hits on me, because I understand that I’ve wronged you.  If it were me finding Steph with somebody, they’d be taking him out in a body bag by now.”

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

As she watched them pummel each other, she could see that it wasn’t just punches they were trading.  There were some pretty harsh words as well.  The longer she watched them, the more worried she got.  The more worried she got, the angrier she got.  They were both on testosterone overload.  She just barely heard Ranger say her name and it flipped a switch.  Suddenly she was furious!  They were like two dogs fighting over a bone!  And goddammit, she was nobody’s bone!

She turned to Tank. “Stop this thing.”

He shook his head.  “I’m not stepping in unless Ranger really loses it, Ms. Plum.  If Detective Morelli appears to be in mortal danger, then I’ll get in the middle of it.  Otherwise, I’m out.”  He looked back at the mat, and then at her.  “I’ve had my ass kicked by Ranger.  It’s something I’d rather not repeat.”

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“Wronged me?  You fucked the woman I’d planned to be my wife someday!  Do you even get that?”  He advanced on Ranger, “The mother of my future children! But, I realize that it’s not all your fault, Ranger.   My father always said, ‘The perfect woman is one who is a saint in the kitchen and a whore in the bedroom’.  Guess I just found one who was a whore full time.”

The look that crossed Ranger’s face had the crowd shutting up quickly.  Everyone in the room held their breath because they knew that something about this fight had just changed. 

Morelli took the offensive and threw a punch at Ranger’s head.  Ranger ducked, grabbed the arm and twisted it behind Joe’s back.  He wrapped his free arm around Joe’s neck.    “I did warn you not to call her that again.  You should have listened to me.”

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Stephanie looked to Lester and Bobby, sitting a row behind her.  “Stop this!  This is crazy!” 

Lester leaned over toward her.  “I understand you’re upset, Ms. Plum.  But, they’re big boys and they know what they’re doing.  Besides, I like my face the way it is.  Stepping between Ranger and someone he wants to trash is not a good idea.”

Bobby chimed in. “You couldn’t give me enough booze or cash to jump into the middle of that.  Frankly, Ms. Plum, I’d rather be shot than have Ranger pissed at me.”

She looked at the Merry Men in horrified disbelief.  All of these muscles and they were just a bunch of wussies!  Stephanie stood up quickly.  “Well, you all might be too chicken-shit to stop it, but I’m not!”

Chapter 9

Stephanie stalked over to the emergency exit door.  A tall, curvy blonde in a black “Sith Academy” t-shirt and blue yoga pants was leaning against the door with her arms folded across her stomach.  Steph took a look at her nametag: “Arwen” and below that, “Tae-Bo Instructor”.  “No polo shirts for you?” she asked, curious.  Most of the other gym employees wore red polo shirts and black shorts.

Arwen smiled and shook her head.  “No, I’m a freelance instructor so I can wear what I want.”  She nodded in the direction of the sparring mat, “Those two belong to you?”

Stephanie glanced at the mat to see that Ranger still had a muscular arm around Morelli’s neck and looked like he wasn’t planning to let go anytime soon.  Steph sighed, “Yeah, and I can’t seem to choose between them.”

Arwen nodded in understanding, “I can see that.  It’s like trying to choose between a Big Boy Margarita and a Hot Fudge Sundae.  Neither of them are good for you but if you passed on them both, then where’s the fun in that?” 

“Thank you.  That’s exactly what I’ve been thinking.”

“You know,” said Arwen with a mischievous grin, “You could just not choose and take them both.”

Stephanie gave her a return grin, “Oh, I’ve thought about that – more times than I’d ever admit – but as you can see, they’re not exactly into sharing.”

Arwen laughed, “Yeah, too bad, that.” She motioned to the fire hose cabinet on the wall.  “You could give ‘em both a good hosing down though. That should get their attention.”  She shrugged, “It works with cats.”

Stephanie studied the fire hose for a moment.  Arwen opened the cabinet and handed Stephanie the nozzle.  “Go ahead…you know you want to.”

Even though they were acting like assholes, the thought of them dripping wet gave her a little thrill.  Wet, half-naked Ranger and Morelli?  Nope, there’s no bad there.  She grabbed the hose and nodded to Arwen to turn it on.  Then she turned it toward the mat and pulled the handle back.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

The gym was eerily quiet as everyone watched in stunned amazement as Stephanie turned the stream of water onto the sparring mat.  The force of the water knocked both Ranger and Morelli off their feet.  They rolled backwards and landed on their backs on the mat.  Stephanie turned off the hose and tossed it to the floor.  She stormed over to the sparring mat, stomping through the puddles of water as she went.

Stephanie stood in front of the boys with her hands on her hips.  ‘OK, the caveman convention is officially over!”  She glared at them, “Get up.”

Morelli rolled over to his knees and got up a little slowly, but Ranger was the first to stand.  “Babe.”

Smack! The sound of her hand hitting his wet cheek bounced off the walls as everyone in the room gasped.  “Right now, you don’t get to call me that.”  He stared at her in surprise and rubbed his stinging face. 

She glared at Morelli as well.  He held up his hands in surrender.  “Cupcake…” 

She balled up her fist, swung as hard as she could and hit Joe square in the face.  He stepped backward in surprise. “Don’t you mean ‘whore’?”  He looked at his feet.  “Yeah, I heard you loud and clear Morelli and I have to say that you’ve got brass balls for calling me that considering the fact that you’ve slept with nearly every woman under 40 in the Burg at least once.”  She crossed her arms in front of her.  “I think if anyone’s the whore in this scenario, that’d be you.”

“Right on, Steph!  You tell ‘em!” shouted Connie.  Stephanie turned around and glared at the people in the room who were sitting on the edge of their seats, practically drooling over the drama playing out before them. 

“Don’t you all have elsewhere to be?” she said.  “Show’s over, get lost.”

The majority of the crowd left with several hundred dollars changing hands as they went. Only Lula, Connie and the Merry Men remained.  They stood off to one side quietly and waited to see what would happen.

Stephanie put her hands on her hips.  “Since you both only seem to understand violence, I hope that got your attention.”  Both men looked at her in stunned disbelief.  “I had to stand by this morning while you two had your little pissing contest.  Now, I had to watch the two of you beat the snot out of each other.  And what are you fighting over?  Me!”  She paced in front of them as she continued to rant.  “Well, I’ve had it!  Right now I can’t stand the sight of either of you.  You’re grown men acting like little kids.”  She threw her hands in the air, “I can’t even believe it went this far!  When both of you decide to grow up, give me a call.  Until then, don’t call me, don’t write me, and don’t look for me.  I’m done.”

She spun on her heel and marched out of the gym. 

“Well, shit,” Morelli muttered, drawing his hand through his hair, “now what?”

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Lula, Connie and the Merry Men watched in awe as Stephanie raged at both men and then stormed out of the gym.  Lula grabbed Connie by the arm, “Let’s go.  She looks mighty pissed.  No tellin’ what she gonna get up to.”  The two women rushed after their friend.

When Lula and Connie stepped outside, they saw Stephanie standing in the middle of the parking lot.  They walked up to her cautiously.  “Steph?” said Lula.

“I don’t have my car here,” said Stephanie quietly. 

“I know, girl.  I drove you.  Why don’t we go back to the office and order in some food?”  Lula patted Stephanie on the shoulder.  “’Cause I think you could probably use somethin’ to eat about now.”

“Eat, hell!” said Connie.  “I’ve got a bottle of peppermint schnapps in my desk drawer.  I say we get drunk as skunks.”

Stephanie just shook her head.  “No, I’d just really like to go home.  Could you drop me off at my apartment?”

“Stephanie, you shouldn’t be alone now.  Why don’t you just hang out with us,” said Connie. 

Again, Stephanie shook her head.  “I’m just really tired.  I don’t want to do anything but sleep.  This whole thing has just worn me out.”

Lula nodded, “Ok, girlfriend.  We’ll drive you home.”

As they were walking toward Lula’s Firebird, Stephanie remembered Ranger’s car.  She turned around to see Tank, Bobby and Lester standing outside the gym door. “Ranger’s BMW is at Vinnie’s, if one of you want to pick it up.”

Tank nodded.  “We’ll handle it, Steph.  Get some rest.”

“Ok.  I’ll see you guys later.”  She looked back at the gym, half-expecting to see Ranger and Morelli.  “Could you….”

“Don’t worry about it.  We’ll make sure they’re OK,” said Bobby.  She nodded and got into the car with Lula and Connie.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Morelli slugged the remainder of his beer and motioned the bartender for another.  He pushed the empty mug over and it clinked against the other three he’d already finished.  He switched the bag of crushed ice from the left side of his face, to the right and looked at himself in the bar mirror.  The doctor had set his nose, stitched his cheek and braced his knee but he still looked like death warmed over. 

His gaze shifted to the right and he watched as Ranger, who was sitting on the stool next to him, finished off his latest glass of whiskey and settled it upside down on top of the glass pyramid he was building.  He smiled as he watched Ranger move his own ice pack from his left eye to the right side of his jaw.  Ranger’s 4 stitches in his lower lip, bruised jaw and broken ribs gave Morelli a little jolt of pride.  He’d stood up to the badass and held his own.

The bartender brought another round of drinks for them.  Morelli locked eyes with Ranger in the mirror. “You think she’s OK?”

Ranger took a sip of his drink.  “I think she’s justifiably pissed off.  But, yeah.  She’s OK.” He held up his pager. “Got a text message from Tank.”

Morelli chugged half his glass.  “Christ, you’re having her watched?”

Ranger shook his head.  “Not watched.  Looked after.”

Morelli was quiet for a moment.  “So, you guys are together now?”  Ranger didn’t say anything as he sipped his drink.  Morelli stared at him.  “You ARE together, right?”  When Ranger didn’t respond, Morelli wiped his hand across his eyes, “Jesus, all of this drama and it was just a fuck, wasn’t it?”

Ranger cut his eyes to Morelli.  “No.”

“No?” parroted Morelli.  “No you’re not together? Or, no it wasn’t just a fuck?”

“Both.”

Joe shut his gaping mouth.  “What?!  What kind of bullshit is that?” 

“You know,” said Ranger conversationally, “for someone who considers her a whore, you’re awfully interested in her.”

Morelli looked embarrassed.  “I don’t consider her a whore, not really.  I was just upset.”

“Being ‘upset’ doesn’t excuse the language that you used.  If she hadn’t stopped us earlier, I would have happily broken your neck.”  Ranger gulped down the rest of his drink.  “Call her a whore or a cunt again, and a public ass-kicking is going to be the least of your problems.”

Morelli narrowed his eyes. “Don’t threaten me, Manoso.  And, for the record, you didn’t kick my ass.  It was a draw.  If you had knocked me out, then you would have won.  Since you didn’t…”

Without warning Ranger’s fist shot out and clocked Morelli on the side of the head.  Joe swayed slightly and then slipped off his barstool and slid boneless to the floor, unconscious. 

Ranger picked up the fresh glass the bartender gave him and slammed back the entire contents.  He calmly placed the empty glass on the bar and stood up.  “Looks like I win, asshole.”  He threw down a hundred dollar bill for the drinks, and stepped over Morelli’s body to walk out of the bar. 

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

AN:  Special thanks to Arwen for her suggestion of the fire hose to break up the fight.  Once I had that settled, everything else fell into place.  Thanks, babe!!

Chapter 10

Stephanie stepped out of the shower and grabbed a towel from the rack on the wall.  She wrapped it around her body tightly and then pulled another one off and dried her hair.  As she stepped up to the mirror, she picked up her leave-in conditioner and poured a dollop into her hands.  She worked the liquid into her hair and then combed it out straight.  It looked nice straight; different.  But she knew it wouldn’t stay that way.  Mr. Alexander suggested that they chemically straighten it, but she always declined.  As much as she hated the wildness, the curls were kind of her trademark.  And both Joe & Ranger loved her curls.

Joe and Ranger.  She closed her eyes with a sigh.  The sight of them beating the crap out of each other had turned her stomach.  The fact that they were essentially fighting over her like two dogs over a bone with the whole Burg watching made her want to heave.  Some women would get a charge out of having two gorgeous men fighting over her.  Stephanie was not one of those women. 

She slipped on a pair of Bugs Bunny boxer shorts and a gray Douglass College t-shirt and curled up on the couch with a bowl of ice cream and Ghostbusters.  Sigourney Weaver was just starting to levitate when there was a soft knock on her door. 

She set her bowl aside and got up to answer it.  She was surprised to see Joe Morelli leaning against her door frame.  He looked like he’d been run over by a Mack truck.  His nose was swollen, one half of his face was black and blue and he had a crutch tucked under his left arm to support the knee that was in a brace.  There was one tiny bruise on the left side of his jaw and she took comfort that that one belonged to her right hook.  Of course, with as badly beat up as he was he probably didn’t notice it. 

“Hiya, Cupcake.”

“Morelli.  What are you doing here?”

“I, uh, thought we maybe should talk.”

Stephanie stepped back to let Morelli hobble in.  He made his way over to the sofa and flopped down with a grunt.  She went into the kitchen and popped the tops off of two beers.  He flinched when she handed one to him. “You’re not gonna hit me again, are you?”

“No.  But I reserve the right to smack you later if I think you deserve it.”

He took a long pull from the bottle, “I guess that’s fair.”  He was quiet for a moment, then said, “Look Steph, I’m sorry for the things that went on today…the things I said…it’s just…seeing you in his shirt, all tousled and stuff....” 

“I’m sorry, Joe.”

“Are you?” he asked quietly. 

“Yes,” she replied.  “I’m sorry that you were hurt by it, but I’m not sorry for being with Ranger.”

He was quiet for a minute, letting her words sink in.  “How long has this been going on with you two?”  She fiddled with the hem of her shirt and chewed on her lower lip while he waited.  “Steph?”

She let out a long breath of air. “Ranger and I…we’ve been kind of…flirting – for a while now.”

“Flirting?”  He said warily.

“Yeah, you know.  Double entendres, an occasional kiss..”

“Kiss?”  His voice a little louder this time.  “Have you guys been sleeping together all of this time?”

She looked up at him in surprise.  “What?!  No!”

“So,” he said leaning back and crossing his arms in front of him, “last night was the first time, then?”  He studied her, waiting to see if she’d tell him the truth.  Ranger had already said that they’d been together…that he’d made her scream his name and ruined her for all other men. 

“No,” she said quietly.  “We’d been together once before.  When you and I were separated.”

He let out the breath he’d been holding.  She didn’t lie at least.  “So what happens now, Cupcake?  We make it a threesome and live happily ever after?” he said sarcastically.

For a split second, she contemplated that scenario and nearly passed out from the hot flash.  Could someone die from pleasure overload?  Because being the cheese in a Ranger & Morelli sandwich would be the first-class E-ticket to bliss.  Ranger may be all business during the day, but in bed he took his time.  Ranger made love to a woman.  Unless he was beyond his control as he’d been the other night, Ranger preferred to kiss, lick and thoroughly explore every inch of skin and when the orgasm hit, he’d ride it out and start all over again.  While Morelli took a more direct approach.  Morelli was goal-oriented in bed.  He fucked like a freight train.  He had clever fingers and a wicked mouth and once he got started, the orgasms would ride one on top of the other until she was begging for mercy.  The two of them together?  Wow, talk about having your cake and eating too!  She’d never want to get out of bed.

Turning her thoughts back to Joe, who now looked both hurt and amused and probably knew exactly what she had been thinking, she said, “No, we aren’t doing that.” Dammit.  “Honestly, I’m not sure what to do with either of you.  I have feelings for you both.”

Morelli nodded and looked down at his feet.  “That’s what I figured.  It’s not exactly news to me.”  She looked up at him in surprise.  “What?  I’m not oblivious, Steph.  I could see something between you two…some chemistry or something.”  He ran a hand through his hair and snorted in disgust, “You know, my life is fucking ironic.  When I took your virginity behind the éclair case, you want to know why I did it?”

“Because I let you?”

He gave an almost-smile, “Well, yeah, but I’d been stuck on you since I was 8 years old.  I knew in my father’s garage that you and I’d get married someday.  I wanted to be your first, because in my head I figured that someday I’d be your last.  We’d sow our wild oats and then settle down.  I’ve been planning that for awhile now.  Got the job, got the house and the dog, even got the SUV.  And up until yesterday, I thought I had you.”

Stephanie shut her gaping mouth.  She’d never heard Morelli talk like this.  He had always been anti-marriage, just like her.  Only deep down, apparently he really wasn’t.  “Joe,” she whispered in disbelief. 

He picked at the seam on couch cushion and swallowed hard, his eyes were glassy with barely controlled emotion.  “The one thing I didn’t count on was that you wouldn’t want any of that.  You’re from the Burg, just like me, and that’s what Burg girls want out of life – a home and a family.  Only, you’ve been raised in the Burg but you’re not part of it.  Not really. You want excitement, adventure, someone who can keep up with you and not get an ulcer.”  His voice took on a husky tone as he added, “You want someone who jumped off the roof when they were 7 because they wanted to know what it was like to fly.”  He cleared his throat, “I’m not that guy, Steph.  And it’s not what I want.”

He stood up and limped over to her, sliding his arms around her and pulling her in gently for a hug.  “I love you, Cupcake.  But we’d kill each other if we got married.  I realize that now.”  He kissed her softly and looked down into her eyes, “I still think Manoso is a fucking psycho and I’m not happy about this at all, but I think he’s the guy you want…maybe even the one you need.”

She stood there completely speechless as Joe kissed her forehead and turned for the door.  A tear slipped down her cheek and she took a step toward him.  “Joe,” she said, “I do love you.”

He gave her a rueful smile.  “Yeah, I know.  But you’re in love with him.”  He opened the door and hobbled out, quietly shutting it behind him. 

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

The turning of her deadbolt lock woke her.  She’d fallen asleep watching an old 1940’s movie, the light from the television cast the room in a soft light.  Her front door swung open and Ranger stepped into her apartment.  From what she could tell in the dim light, he looked only slightly better than Morelli. 

Ranger had a black eye, bruises along one side of his face and several stitches in his lower lip.  He moved stiffly like it hurt just to breathe, and he limped slightly.  He stood at the end of her couch and didn’t say a word as he watched her lay there.  “What are you doing here, Ranger?”

“We need to talk,” he said.  When she moved her legs off the couch and sat up, he sat down carefully next to her.  “Seen Morelli tonight?”

“He came by earlier.”

“Must have had help getting up off the floor,” he muttered.  He locked eyes with her.  “Look Babe, I don’t play games and I don’t dick around when I want to know something – I just ask.  I just want to know…are you going back to Morelli?”

Yep, Ranger was all business, but she could see a glimmer of vulnerability in his eyes as he looked at her.  Or maybe it was just the bruises that made him look vulnerable.  “And if I was?” she asked.  “What would you do about it?”

Ranger gave her a measuring look, “I’d kiss you goodbye and punch him in the face on my way out.”  He smiled at the expression on her face.  “Why are you surprised?  If you remember, I told you that I’m not always civilized.  In fact, when it comes to you…” he almost-smiled and shook his head slightly, “well, civilized is not in the building.”  He shifted his position painfully and she winced in sympathy.  “Yeah, he busted me up pretty good.  Got 3 broken ribs and some bruised kidneys.”

Her gaze wandered over him, taking in the warm brown eyes and gorgeous body.  He was beaten up, but still devastatingly handsome.  Her earlier anger had faded and she found herself just wanting to curl into his arms and be held. 

“So?  What’s it going to be, Steph?”

She stared at him for a full minute, trying to decide if she wanted to take the risk.  A relationship with Ranger would be unpredictable, unconventional…uncivilized.  And exactly what she wanted.  She scooted over the couch and straddled his lap, easing her body weight onto his legs carefully, watching his face for signs of pain.  His hands came up and settled on her hips, tugging her into him so that their groins were snug together.  Stephanie looped her arms around his neck and sifted her fingers through the silky hair on the nape of his neck. 

“You. Me. And Rex.  That’s what it’s going to be.”  She leaned in and kissed him gently on his stitches, pulling back quickly when he flinched. 

He fisted a hand in her hair and tugged her back to him for a more thorough kiss, pain and all.  “And Morelli?”

She couldn’t resist tweaking him just a little after all the macho posturing he’d participated in.  “Well, I did give that some thought….” She grinned at the surprised expression on his face, knowing his thoughts hadn’t gone in that direction.  “But, neither of you know how to share so I figured that wouldn’t work out so well.”

“You figured right,” he said as he slid one hand to her breast and one to her bottom, squeezing both gently. 

Stephanie looked at him skeptically. “You feel up to this?”

He thrust his hips against hers lightly, “You think?”

“But you’re hurt,” she said.

“True.” He nuzzled her neck and added, “So I guess you’ll just have to be gentle with me.” 

The End

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