527So, I'm back! After a long, suffering, painful writer's block, I have finally gotten a story chapter that I like. Go me! It would've been up sooner, but I had some family problems over break and then I realized two days ago that I actually wanted the story to start a completely different way. As of right now, I'd like to update once a week and when the story picks up maybe twice a week. Hopefully I'll keep to the schedule as long as the muse and school cooperate. So sit back and enjoy!
Not mine. If it was, I'm pretty sure Ranger would never see the light of day.
Also, before you read the story, I want to point out that there will be no confusion of loyalty. The bad guys are bad guys and the good guys are good guys. No one has any other motives (except Ranger... but then, when doesn't he?).
When I was little, I dreamed of being Wonder Woman. I always thought that she was so cool. I mean, no one bossed her around and made her clean the invisible plane. Plus, she got to wear fun costumes.
And everyone knows it's all about the costumes.
Now, I still want to be Wonder Woman, but my perspective has changed. Instead of being excited about the thought of freedom, I just want the cool costume.
However, if I wore it, then someone would try to commit me. And that just wouldn't do.
My name is Stephanie Plum and I'm a bounty hunter. That means I get to use my lasso of truth (aka my handcuffs) and any womanly wiles that I may have (5'7", average build, brown hair and big blue eyes) to drag scumbags back to jail after failing to appear for their court date. However, recently, the crooks of Trenton have been meeting their court dates leaving my wallet a little short in the cash department.
So here I am, sitting in a Rangeman cubicle, waiting for the search to complete while my ass gets numb. Ranger aka Carlos Manoso gives me a job at his company whenever the skips run dry. Somehow he always offers it to me before even I know I don't have any skips. The man says he's not Batman, but I just don't buy it.
He's Cuban-American with dark hair, dark eyes, dark skin and a dark past that surfaces once every blue moon, but never talks about. He's my mentor, my friend, my sometimes rescuer and my lover. We don't talk about the last one. It just happens. And it's been happening quite a lot.
But now I'm off men, so it doesn't happen at all. Although when it did… man, now I need a fan.
So I was sitting in my cubicle (mentally fanning myself because of all the mental images of Ranger naked), waiting for the research to ping, when a hand grabbed my shoulder.
"AHH!" I screeched, rolling around to see my attacker. "JESUS! What the hell?"
A few of the other guys peeked over to see what was going on and snickered.
Ranger had snuck up on me. Again.
At least this time I had a good reason to be unaware. I pulled my headphones from my ears and paused the music. "Can't you get my attention like a normal person?"
"That wouldn't be as fun. You need to be more aware."
He needed to get that stamped on a shirt. "I got bored."
"What if the building was bombed?"
"I would've heard it and grabbed my gun. Not that anyone is stupid enough to bomb you. Besides, with all these other workers running around like sissies because they got bombed, I'm pretty sure I'd notice and get the hell out."
He grinned now. "What are you still doing here? It's almost six."
I looked at my watch. "Already? Shit, I'm going to be late."
"Dinner at your parents?"
"No. Joe's cooking tonight." I said offhandedly. Joe was my on again/ off again boyfriend for most of my adult life. His rugged Italian Stallion good looks make women go weak in the knees. He's six feet, dark hair and chocolate eyes that melt when he's horny. We had recently come to the conclusion that we weren't good for each other anymore. Sure, we had some great times in bed, but he wants a wife and I don't want to be chained in the kitchen. We finally saw eye to eye on that and split amicably. I wasn't sad at all because we decided to stay friends. Actually, the only thing that changed in the relationship was that we weren't having sex. The relationship is better than when we were together. I liked having Joe as just a friend.
"Why?"
"Because it's his turn."
"You cook?"
I shouldn't even be allowed to own an oven. "Please. I throw a Stouffer's lasagna in the microwave. In fact," I pulled out my grocery list and added that. "Thanks."
I could see that Ranger's face was a little darker than normal. "I thought you were off men."
"Oh I am. I am so off men that I could be a lesbian."
"So then…"
I sighed. Sometimes Ranger was a little dense. "Joe and I are just friends. We have dinner and talk and watch the game. Plus I like to see Bob. Don't you do that with Tank?"
"No."
"Well maybe you should. Even the Lone Ranger had Tonto to talk to."
He grinned now. "I thought you were my Tonto, Babe."
Aw, sweet. "Sure. But this Tonto has plans. See you." I shuffled past him and called the elevator. He was still standing near my desk when the doors closed.
"Okay, it is unnatural for my kitchen to smell this good." I said when I opened my apartment door. I lived smack dab in the middle of Trenton in a utilitarian brick building with the old and the newly married. I had a corner apartment with a fire escape, which became handy when I needed to dry my clothes.
Joe was stirring a pot of red sauce and smiled at me. "Well the world is supposed to end, you know." He joked while handing me a glass of wine.
I took a sip and ignored the comment. "When's dinner going to be ready?"
"About five minutes."
That would give me enough time to change out of my Rangeman uniform and into my Ranger's jersey. I sat the wine glass down and raced to my bedroom to change.
"How was work today?" Joe asked me. Since we broke up, he actually seemed interested in the work I was doing at Rangeman. I told him about the research I had done and the plans I had helped create to get the bad guys. Since my regular FTA's were staying out of trouble, I decided to work at Rangeman full time. He worked it out with Vinnie so that all the skips are contracted through Rangeman. Ranger lets me pick who I want to deal with and then he splits the rest between the guys. To go after the bigger skips, Ranger has me training every other day. I still have a few more weeks left before he can feel confident to let me go out with a partner.
On the upside, I can run two miles without being winded now. Ranger was a proud man that day; so proud that he bought me a donut. I think I was more shocked than anyone.
When I was done, Joe talked about the cases he was working on. He was a Homicide detective, but for the next few months while they are figuring out the budget, he's pulling double duty and working Vice as well. Some of them were still pending, so he told me as much as he could and asked for my input. Sometimes my spidey sense comes in handy.
After dinner, we placed the dishes in the kitchen and settled down to watch the game.
"Oh, I wanted to tell you that I have a date with Nina."
"The paramedic who came to my last car bombing?" A skip thought it was funny to bring a Molotov cocktail with him to jail. Well, he didn't make it and my car suffered the brunt of the poorly designed joke.
"Yeah. I thought you should hear it from me first before word got out to the Burg."
I nodded. "She's cute. When are you guys going out?"
"Friday."
"Good. I'm glad you're going out. Thanks for telling me."
"Sure." He paused. "You know, if there's something you want to tell me about Ranger…"
"I'm off men. There is no me and Ranger." I replied without looking at him.
"Stephanie, if you want to go after him…"
I looked at Joe now. "There is nothing going on. I need to be on my own for a little while so for right now…" I trailed off. He got the point.
I appreciated his support, but right now, I needed to work on me. I needed to figure out what I wanted without anyone else getting in the way. And for me to do that, Ranger needed to be on the outside so I don't get all fuzzy. I want a clear head when I make that decision. I think I was finally growing up.
"Okay. I just want you to be happy."
I smiled. "I know." I cuddled into his chest and enjoyed the game.
The next morning, I walked into the bonds office with a box of donuts and Lester on my heels.
"Oh thank god." Lula said, getting up and heading straight for the donuts. She was looking exactly like herself in red spandex and red curly hair. I see that the little orphan Annie look was back. She came to work for Vinnie after being left on my fire escape by Benito Ramirez. And to be honest, she adds a little color to the place.
"Do you have any skips for me?" I asked Connie. She graduated a few years before me and had bigger brown hair and a bigger cup size. No one fooled with Connie because she was tied to the Family. Today, her Italian side was showing because she needed a lip wax.
"Just these." She handed me two files and I signed for them. "These," she held out to Lester, "are for you."
"Thanks." He signed his form. "So, how you doin'?"
Connie blinked once. "Does that ever work?"
"Sometimes."
"Try on someone else." Connie turned back to me. "Mooner called here looking for you. He doesn't want to miss his court date so he wants to bum a ride."
I did a double take. Mooner was one of my regulars who lived his life in a haze of marijuana smoke.
"He wants a ride?"
She nodded. "I think he's trying to turn his life around."
"Good for him. When does he need it?"
"Tomorrow at eight."
"I'll be there." I turned to Lester who was looking for his second donut. "Ready?"
He picked a glazed and nodded. "Let's roll."
When we got back to Rangeman, the first thing I heard was the unusual laughter of the men. The doors dinged open and we saw that most of the men were crowded around a beautiful, leggy blond.
Ranger included.
My heart sank. Not that I wanted him to wait for me, but it was nice to think that he might be.
"Do you know who that is?" I asked Lester.
"No, but I want to."
I rolled my eyes. Classic Lester.
We walked over and joined the crowed. I got a better look at the woman. She was a little taller than me, clear hazel eyes and hair that reached the middle of her back. She also had at least a cup size on me and appeared two dress sizes smaller.
She was perfect. I sighed and mentally slapped myself. If Ranger had a new girlfriend (not that Ranger did relationships) I was going to be happy for him. I forced a smile on my face and walked over.
The guys were laughing at the story and even Ranger had cracked a smile. Her eyes roamed the group and when they landed on mine, they began to sparkle and she walked over.
Oh boy.
"You must be Stephanie. Obviously," she said, rolling her eyes. "You're the only woman Ranger has ever employed other than Ella. It's so nice to meet you. I'm Natalie Fino. I've heard so much about you."
She was perky. "I wish I could say the same." I stuttered.
Ranger eyes went hard. "Don't you all have work to do?" He asked the men.
They paled and scurried off, leaving me, Natalie and Ranger alone.
Great.
"Ranger does nothing but sings your praises."
"Oh," I said, unsure of what to say to that. "He's a good boss."
She smiled back at him. "The Army taught him well."
Ranger decided to pipe in. "Natalie works for ATF. She's here to offer us a job."
"Yes!" She brightened even more. Just when I thought she couldn't get any perkier. "And I would love your input. I hope we can get together tomorrow to discuss things."
"Sure." Damn, it was hard to hate her, even though on some level, I wanted to.
"Great. Now if you excuse me, I need to go say hi to that man over there." She sauntered off to talk to Lester.
I turned to Ranger. "She seems nice."
He nodded once, his eyes not moving from my face.
"She's cute too." I smiled at him, showing I was okay with her. Them.
He smiled now, catching my drift. "Babe, there's nothing going on between her and me. Besides," he said, twirling one of my curls around his finger. He lowered his mouth to my ear, so I was the only one to hear him. "You know that I only go for brunettes."
Be still my heart.