This is it. While it took me a lot longer than planned, the story is now complete, this is its last chapter. I hope you enjoyed it, but even if you didn't, I'd love to hear from you.
It's a little longer than I had planned, but I hope I managed to wrap everything up.
Thank you all so very much for joining me on this ride. I appreciate your reviews and feedback, they're what's keeping me going.
'Faith' wouldn't have been possible without Stayce's help, thank you girlfriend. Thank you for the edits, the brainstorming and the kicks in the ass...you're the best!
Disclaimer: Still not my characters, but I promise to return them mostly unharmed. The title is borrowed from Bon Jovi
Keep the Faith
Epilogue
"You think I look like an alien??"
I guess the look on my face was pretty funny, at least it made Lester crack up. "No, Sweetheart," he said, trying to catch his breath. "I said you remind me of Sigourney Weaver in 'Alien'. Big difference." He ran a hand over my short-short hair. "I like it. Kinda sexy."
It had been two weeks since I had Mary Lou all but shave my head bald. There was half an inch of fuzz on my scalp that looked like it already wanted to go curly. Today was the first day I'd come to the RangeMan office without my wig because I was planning on working out before starting on the background checks. And naturally, that made today the day I ran into Lester on my way to the gym.
Of course I knew I wouldn't be able to keep my hair, or lack thereof, from Ranger's men until it was back to shoulder length, but still, a little longer would have been nice. No one had asked questions when I appeared with a blond pixie cut one morning. Being men, I don't know if they'd even thought about it much, but if they had, they didn't bring it up to me, it was just accepted.
Lester touched the tip of my nose with his index finger. "Really sexy, actually."
He sometimes reminded me of Joe back in the day, everything about a girl was sexy when he was in the mood. I rolled my eyes. "Don't tell anyone, okay? I'm not ready yet."
Lester glanced up at the ceiling. Right at the security camera. "Sorry Darling, too late for that."
Ungh, mental head slap. I worked at a security company and had forgotten about the cameras.
"You know what I mean," I tried to recover and Lester snickered.
"Is this some kinky 'Mr. and Mrs.' thing you and Ranger have going on?" Lester asked, jumping away from my slapping hand.
I continued my way into the gym smiling. It wasn't kinky, but Ranger and I certainly looked more alike than usual these days.
At the time, I'd had a lot on my mind so I couldn't appreciate the irony, but Ranger and I had shaved our heads the same day. He showed up at my apartment completely bald hours after my shoulder length hair had been reduced to stubble. We both had suffered head injuries and style unconscious doctors had seen it fit to shave the parts around them to tend to the wounds, for some reason. Okay, so I knew the reason, it still bordered on barbaric, the way they just buzz-cut a third of my head.
Of course on Ranger, it did look sexy. But then again, I couldn't think of anything that wouldn't look good on him. I loved his long black hair, the way I could run my fingers through it, but as it had turned out, my fingers quickly found other places to roam.
After Mary Lou, Ranger had been the first one to see me 'without' hair. The wig had slipped off five minutes after he'd thrown me onto my bed. I was trapped under him at the time, so I couldn't run and hide in the bathroom, but that hadn't been necessary anyway. Ranger had smiled the full-on smile, run his thumb over my cheek as his eyes took in the new me, and simply said, "I love you."
And although I knew we'd tease each other plenty later, at that moment, it had been the perfect thing to say.
I turned the treadmill to 3.5 mph and started walking, going over the past two weeks in my mind. Four things had been on my to-do list then, and only one remained now.
For starters, I'd taken Rex and Bob back into my custody and moved back into my apartment after a few weeks of mayhem.
Second, with Harry's help, I'd found out who was behind the shooting that had cost Ranger his hair, and it had been very anti-climactic to find out that they were just two more of DalBo's lackeys, unable to think or act on their own, just following orders they'd received. I'd passed the 'anonymous' tip on to Trenton PD and the two were arrested. I swear I have no idea why the judge denied bail and they were still sitting in Trenton's nice jail awaiting their trial. These two were American, so they'd be tried here and hopefully sent away for a long time, attempted murder should do the trick.
A week ago, I had to appear in court to give my version of the day DalBo had tried to kidnap me at the deli. It was what he'd been arrested for, but it was only one part of the laundry list of charges against him.
The day at the deli had cost me my hair and I intended to get retribution.
It was a lot easier than I had anticipated. For one thing, DalBo wasn't scary when Ranger was sitting a few feet away from me on the visitor's bench. And he hadn't stalked me or creeped me out, he was just an asshole, not high on the psycho scale. It's sad, but 'normal' criminals hardly freak me out anymore.
Ranger had advised me not to even look at DalBo, but to look at the lawyer or the judge or him at all times, and that had worked.
I had to take my wig off and show the judge just how close to essential body parts the bullet had scraped me, so I had been very grateful it had been a closed hearing and not a public trial with cameras and reporters.
I'd been so nervous that I almost laughed with relief when all I had to do was answer questions about what happened when, and Ranger told me later I had painted the perfect picture of innocent Lester and Steph being attacked by the evil German while having lunch and minding nothing but their own business. I guess I forgot to mention that we were checking out the deli because DalBo was one of its most frequent customers. I was under a lot of stress, one tends to forget things when stressed out, right?
Jaime, who'd worked at the deli at the time, confirmed my story, although we hadn't had a chance to talk beforehand. It looked like a slam dunk, but unfortunately all it did was deny them bail until they'd be shipped home. I'd really wanted to be there when they lock the assholes up, preferably for life.
I'd been taken off the list of possible suspects in Guzzarella's murder, so I knew neither DalBo nor his henchman Hartung could harm me by falsely accusing me.
Carl Costanza told me that DalBo's father tried to work his connections from Germany, but had failed. I had Harry to thank for that, I was sure. Both DalBo and Hartung would be deported back to Germany and Harry had promised me he'd send word, whatever that meant. I was just waiting for the day when I didn't have to share a country with them anymore. According to my cop friends, my testimony helped seal the deal, DalBo would be accused of attempted kidnapping and attempted murder.
I somehow knew Harry was helping a lot more than he'd admit to. I'm not very 'connected', but I can imagine how much work it takes to keep Family members from infiltrating the prison, get an inmate out on bail and such. But for me that meant I owed Harry. He didn't think so, but I felt like he'd done a lot more for me than I'd done for him.
And that's part of the reason why I was here, at the gym, at the ungodly hour of 8 AM.
Ranger had left my apartment after being called at 5:30, there was a break in at one of his accounts. With a quick kiss and an 'I'll see you at work', he was gone. I wanted to turn over and get some more sleep, but something about the phone call and him leaving had put a train of thought in motion, and it was still running.
Harry had asked me to keep Joyce away from Vinnie. As it turned out, Harry had accepted Vinnie's pervert-ness in all other aspects but not where it came to Joyce Barnhardt. Smart man.
Since I hated Joyce, it was more of a project than a duty to come up with a way to separate her from Vinnie.
I mean, I had been all excited about the task, until I put my mind to it and could only come up with two ideas. One had been to hire a hooker, but I figured with my luck, the madam would send one that just happened to be even more perverted than Joyce, and Vinnie would be in love. I couldn't chance that.
The other idea, I was working my way up to. Hence the workout. I know that doesn't make sense, but it was too early in the day to drink and Ranger always told me how a good workout did all these things for your body and mind and I needed some help.
I'd suggested it once already, but it had been received as a joke and forgotten. So, yeah, it had been sort of a joke, but now it wasn't anymore. I wanted to be even with Harry after he'd helped me get rid of a major pain in the ass.
And Ranger had to help me. As soon as I'd work up the courage to ask him in a way that he knew I was serious, that was.
I upped the speed on the treadmill, trying to come up with a plan. The whole idea was insane, of course, but it was the only one I had.
A half hour later, I was drenched in sweat and still hadn't formulated a plan. Too much depended on Ranger's reaction when I asked him to pretend to seduce Joyce.
After I'd taken a shower up on the seventh floor and gotten a cup of coffee, I took a deep breath and marched right into Ranger's office. Now or never and all that crap.
He was sitting behind his desk, studying a file in front of him. When I entered, he looked up and his mouth quirked up in a smile.
"I'd like to think I put that look on your face, but since I left four hours ago, I'm assuming you had a good gym session." He got up and met me halfway, wrapping his arms around me. "Although I'm almost finished here…"
God, I couldn't do this if he was tempting me like this! He brushed his lips over mine, pulling me closer, and my insides turned to mush. Never mind that I'd had him all night long, I could never get enough Ranger.
"I can't," I said, putting my palms on his chest to keep some distance between us. "I need your help."
"Okay," Ranger said. "Let me finish up here and I'll meet you for brunch at 11 in my apartment?"
From the wolf grin he was displaying I had a feeling eating wouldn't be a large part of said brunch, but I had no objections to a nooner either. As long as it came after 'the talk'.
"Actually, I hope to have some good news for you by then," he jerked his head over his shoulder, indicating his desk.
"DalBo?" I guessed.
He nodded. "Let me put it all together so I have the whole picture. See you at 11?" He kissed me and suddenly, the talk could wait, as long as I could get his lips onto mine again.
"Eleven," I confirmed and cupped his ass with both my hands for a beat before I let him go. "See you there."
The wolf grin deepened as he slapped my ass when I turned. I thought about pretending to be offended, but I knew Ranger wouldn't fall for that anyway, so I just winked at him and sashayed out of his office.
I sat down at my desk, powered up my desktop and took the first file out of my Inbox. The good thing about running background checks is, you don't have to pay all that much attention to them. You type the person's name right, and the computer does all the rest. Then you print out the findings and start with the next. It's a perfect job when you have more important things to think about.
Really, it was Ranger's fault. The idea, that is. He was the one who'd told Joyce he would ruin me for all other men, and Joyce always had to have what I had. The way he told me about his little white lie to get Joyce off my back, the tone in his voice, had made me believe him absolutely, long before I had a chance to…uhm…confirm his claims.
Of course I wouldn't share him with any woman, much less with Joyce, I'd kill her before I'd let him touch her. But he was my only solution to the problem. You see my predicament?
I sighed and fed the next search parameters into the computer. Unlike many of my problems, this one was my own fault. Harry had told me in no uncertain terms that as far as he was concerned, we were even. The trouble was, I didn't agree. Ranger and his men had overwhelmed the intruders who had invaded Harry's compound, not me. I hadn't done anything besides getting shoved into the basement and knocking Tank unconscious.
No, blame it on my Burg upbringing, a deal was a deal, and I still owed Harry my end of it. It was the last loose end I had to tie up before I could move on.
I had to move on. Joe had been killed eight months ago. Every time I thought about the deal with Harry, I was reminded what prompted me to call him in the first place and I remembered that time as the worst of my life: the week after Joe died. Closure was long overdue. I owed it to myself, and I owed it to Ranger, he deserved all of me.
"Is that all?"
I jumped at the sound of Lester's voice and his apparent ability to read my mind. But when I turned around, he just happened to be standing next to my cubicle, he was looking at a report and talking to Bobby.
I mentally rolled my eyes at my paranoia and hurried to finish up the searches before lunch. I wanted to get it all done, since with any luck, I wouldn't be returning later.
Lester winked at me on his way back to his station and sent me his brilliant smile. He was healthy again after getting shot and beaten up while trying to protect me. Unfortunately, he hadn't lost his sense of humor through any of it and he was one of my best friends at RangeMan.
That's why his reaction to my new…uhm…hairstyle had meant a lot. 'Kinda sexy', I could live with that.
Ranger wasn't the only one who'd healed well, I was healthy again, too. My head wound hadn't required stitches, and once the scabbing was done and the hair grew back, no one would know there was even a scar. The cuts and bruises that had made me look like a bomb attack victim had all healed. I still had occasional dizzy spells, but I figured if I ignored them long enough, they too would go away. It wasn't something I wanted to waste a doctor's time with.
Ranger's stitches had come out the week before and his hair was already trying to cover what was left of the almost bullet hole. It still made me shiver when I thought about that moment. I had been sure he was dead, and when I learned just how close the bullet had come to entering his head, I got dizzy.
I shook my head to clear it, I couldn't be having those thoughts! No more what-if's! Ranger had gotten hurt before and probably would get hurt again, if I focused too much on that truth, I'd prove his earlier theory, that his life didn't lend itself to relationships, right, and that so wasn't true!
At a quarter of eleven, I finished the last request and logged off my computer. Even if I didn't end up spending the rest of the day with Ranger, I had a couple outstanding FTAs that I wanted to take care of in the afternoon.
I said my goodbyes to Cal and Woody at the monitors as I passed them on my way out and walked over to the elevator. Lester wasn't at his desk; I didn't even know if he was still in the building, it was hard to keep track of the merry Men.
When I got off the elevator on the seventh floor, Ella was just leaving Ranger's apartment.
She greeted me with a warm smile. "How are you today, Steph? There's mousse au chocolat for dessert."
I returned her smile. "That sounds wonderful," I said as my mouth watered. "Thank you so much." I held the elevator doors open for her and she smiled her thank you before they closed.
With a last deep breath, I keyed the apartment door open.
As I'd expected, Ranger was already in the apartment. He was standing in the dining room, filling the wine glasses. I was ready to just delay the inevitable and have fun with him instead, wine for lunch almost certainly meant he was planning on taking the afternoon off.
But I'd put it off for too long, today was the day I'd set myself as the deadline, I would talk to Ranger today. And it had been part of my gym resolution this morning.
"Welcome," Ranger said, putting the bottle down and turning to me. "I hope you're hungry. I know I am." The wolf grin spread over his face.
He walked toward me and put his arms around my waist. "I have a lot to make up for, since I had to leave too early this morning."
He nuzzled my neck as he spoke and I allowed myself this moment to relax into him. I knew what he meant. When there were no interruptions, Ranger always woke me in the nicest way and we had slow, incredibly romantic morning sex.
I sighed and slowly placed my hands on his chest, not pushing him away, but keeping the distance. "There's something I need to talk to you about…"
"Me too, but I thought maybe it can wait," Ranger said, his mouth on my ear now.
He once told me I kept surprising him, but he did the same to me. Ranger always wanted to do business first, pleasure later. And since I knew he wanted to talk about developments regarding DalBo, it was doubly surprising. It was nice to get reassurance Ranger was still human after all.
"It can't wait," I said, and I made no effort to hide my disappointment. "I've put it off for too long already."
And the mood was broken. Ranger pulled back to look at me and raised an eyebrow. "Is everything okay?"
Poof, there went my courage. Just like that. "I am kinda hungry," I said and tried to free myself from his embrace. He didn't let me. I should have known better than to stall for time.
"Babe, what's wrong?"
I finally mustered up the courage to look up at him. "Lester saw me without my wig today."
He smiled. "So he saw the real beautiful you?" He bent down and kissed my nose. "Nice try, I know that's not it."
Damned ESP. I bit my lip and finally spit it out. "I need a favor."
"Anything, you know that," Ranger said and I could tell he knew that wasn't the issue.
"I've asked you once before but you never gave me an answer," I said and started running my fingertip over his chest to avoid eye contact.
Ranger caught my hand in his and stooped down to look me in the eye. "Babe."
I sighed and closed my eyes. "It's Joyce. You need to make Joyce believe you want her."
"I thought Harry…" Ranger started but I cut him off.
"Harry doesn't think I owe him, but I do. And it's Joyce, I have a personal interest in pissing her off. Will you help me?"
Ranger's mouth curved into a slow smile. "I thought you didn't want me anywhere near her?"
He'd loosened his grip on me and I managed to turn and twist out of his arms. I walked over to the dining table and loaded up my plate with ziti, chicken and broccoli, then I sat down and started eating. Ranger let me have this slight delay and sat down in the opposite chair, taking a sip from his wine before filling his plate up, too.
It didn't work, I couldn't eat. It was ridiculous how much this had consumed me, it really had to end. I took a deep breath. "I have a plan."
Ranger raised an eyebrow again and almost smiled, I was grateful he didn't make a comment about the usual outcome of my plans. "Let's hear it."
So I told him. I hadn't worked it all out just yet, but I was making it up as I went and I liked it better by the minute.
"You sure about this?" Ranger asked when I'd finished.
No, not really. But it was all I had, so…"Kinda."
This brought a chuckle from him. "Starting tomorrow?"
I nodded. "If you're in."
Ranger tossed his napkin on the table and got up. He walked over and squatted next to me. "What's in it for me though?"
He waggled his eyebrows and I had a pretty good idea of what he expected as 'payment'. I love debts that make me sing the hallelujah chorus while paying them!
I put my finger to my lips, pretending to think. "Uhm…a shiny nickel?"
Ranger snorted and straightened, then he took my hand and dragged me with him to the bedroom. "Did I tell you I took the rest of the afternoon off?"
Can I plan or what? I had emptied my inbox and logged off my computer, I'd effectively taken the afternoon off, too. Of course Ranger was never really offline, his men knew they could always reach him in case of emergency. They always made sure it really was an emergency because if they interrupted something and Ranger found out they could have handled it on their own…well let's just say Ranger really treasured our alone time. I haven't kept count, but I think since we got together, Ranger has smashed at least two cell phones to smithereens.
He led me to the bedroom, tossed his cell phone and pager onto the nightstand, and took both my hands in his.
"Doesn't the payment usually come after services are rendered?" I asked, barely keeping a straight face.
"This is one of those services you have to pay up front for," he replied without hesitation and sent me his 100-Watt smile as his hands ran up and down my arms.
"What if I'm not happy with the services?" I asked, really getting into this game.
"You'll get a refund," Ranger said and kissed me.
The kiss started slow and playful, just the tip of his tongue playing with mine. But then, with a low growl, he wrapped his arms around me and pulled me against him, deepening the kiss.
I linked my fingers behind his head and plastered myself against him, molding every part of my body to his.
Ranger loosened his grip and let his hands wander over my back, down to my ass, cupping it. Then they wandered back up and with one swift movement, he had my wig off and on the floor. For some reason, it was always the first thing he did now, as if to prove he preferred me the way I was.
Without breaking the kiss, he lifted me up until I could snake my legs around his hips, so that we were groin to groin and I could feel his length through the fabric of his cargos against my core.
"Too many clothes," he whispered, his mouth less than an inch from mine, his hands pulling my shirt free.
He turned and I gasped when he dropped me onto the bed without warning. His smile was definitely predatory when he leaned down, opened the button on my jeans and pulled down the zipper.
I tried to reach up and unbutton his shirt, but he caught my hand in his. "My payment, my turn," he said and winked.
Who was I to argue with that? I knew I'd get my opportunity later so I didn't have a problem with just lying back and enjoying Ranger's roaming hands.
I lifted my hips so he could pull my pants off. He knelt on the mattress and kissed each exposed inch of skin; I was writhing beneath him by the time he reached my knees. I could feel him smile against my skin when he placed both his hands on my hips to keep me down.
"We have all afternoon," he murmured and continued kissing his way down my legs.
My skin was burning under his touch and I was sure I was going to explode at any second, and still Ranger held me down and took his time. He scooted back, lifted first one leg and then the other, freeing me of my socks. Then he kissed my toes, my feet, my ankles…
"Please…" I said, almost out of breath, my heart beating a mile a minute.
"You owe a lot…" was Ranger's only response as he quickly pulled his shirt over his head and lowered himself back down.
He was within my arms' reach then and I grabbed his shoulders, pulling him up to me gently. He smiled and complied, molding his body to mine, sneaking his hand under my shirt even as he closed my lips with his.
I moaned into his mouth when his finger brushed over my nipple through the satin of my bra, and when he pushed the fabric aside, I arched into his hand. He spread his hand over my breast then, gently kneading, while his tongue explored my mouth.
A frustrated gasp escaped my mouth when Ranger removed both his hand and his mouth at the same time, and I was about to complain when I realized he just needed to separate us to get rid of my shirt.
Ranger smiled at my impatience and slid his hands under me, lifting me up just a little as he lowered his mouth to my nipple and I inhaled sharply at the sensation. A low tingle emanated from my breast, down my stomach straight to my center. I raked my fingernails over his back, pressing him to me, grinding my hips against his.
He circled his tongue around the nipple once, twice, three times, until it pebbled at the touch, and then he repeated it on the other nipple before he kissed his way down my rib cage and settled himself between my legs. He hooked a finger under my panties and pulled them off, making even that a caress in and by itself.
When he wanted to, Ranger could draw out foreplay for hours, teasing me, getting me this close to the edge only to shift positions, then finding a new way of heating me up. That had been last night. Today, he seemed just as impatient as I was, when I reached down to loosen his belt and button, he pulled back willingly to give me the necessary room. And that gave me the idea to tease him for a change.
"It's not really fair you do all the work for the payment I owe you," I said and wrapped my arms around him as I pulled myself up.
I flipped us, not because of any swift movement, but because Ranger let me, and ended up straddling him. I balanced my weight on my knees and shimmied his pants down further, Ranger did the rest by pushing them off. He smiled up at me as I splayed my hands palms down on his abdomen and pushed up, teasing his nipples for a moment before stretching out on top of him, kissing him.
He ran his hands up from my hips, holding me to him, deepening the kiss. Our tongues danced and I felt the heat curl up inside me, setting me on fire. I withdrew then, slowly getting back into a sitting position and smilled down at him. I pushed one bra strap off my shoulder then the other, and when Ranger tried to grab me, I pulled back, just out of his reach. Slowly swaying as if I was hearing music, I circled my hips slowly, just brushing his cock with my wet folds, then I reached around me and undid the hooks, letting my breast push the bra, but not taking it off.
Ranger's eyes darkened to almost black as he reached up, pulled the bra free and cupped my breast. I gasped and bent down, slowly planting wet kisses down his neck, around his nipples, on his abs. He took me by the shoulders, trying to pull me back up, but I shook my head and parted his legs with my knee, settling myself on my elbows.
When I took his fully erect length in both my hands, Ranger's hands fell to his sides as he grasped the sheet.
"Dios," he gasped as I slowly lowered my mouth, circling my tongue round the tip before plunging down as far as I could take him.
I cupped his balls with one hand, squeezing them lightly, holding his shaft tight with the other, when I moved up again, letting my tongue run the length of his cock.
His thigh muscles started trembling with the effort to constrain himself and I smiled, enjoying the power.
"You like that?" I purred as I took him in my mouth again, sucking harder this time, applying more pressure to the base.
Ranger mumbled something I couldn't understand and tried to pull me up again, but I 'silenced' him by picking up the speed. I knew exactly what he liked and before long, I felt his hard length pulsating in my hand. That's when I stopped and gave him the shortest of breathers, while I positioned myself on top of him. I used one hand to guide his cock right into me, and now it was my turn to gasp as he filled me wholly.
"Steph, I can't…" Ranger pressed out, but I didn't stop. This one was for him, I knew there would be a later.
"Shhhh," I soothed, lifting my hips slightly, flexing my pelvic muscles as I eased myself down again.
Ranger was all but panting now, his grip on my hips would leave bruises for sure, and I could feel the pressure build in me. But I didn't want him to wait for me, I wanted him to lose control, so I bent forward, my palms flat on his chest and as I lifted my hips up and back down again, I bit his shoulder, hard enough to leave dents. He came so hard I could feel his hot seed spilling inside of me and that gave me a satisfaction second only to an orgasm. I did this! I made Ranger let go completely.
I went completely still then, my head on his chest, listening to his rapid heart beat. His arms around me, his breathing slowly returned to normal.
"Now you have a credit," he whispered after a couple minutes, and I could hear the smile in his voice.
"I don't like to carry a balance…" I said, slowly rolling off of him.
And then we spent the next few hours evening out the balance, never getting it quite right until it was time for dinner. Which meant we had to take a shower. Which led to hot shower sex that made me forget my name. Considering the day had started on the crappy side, it had turned into the best day ever.
Ranger made his 'famous' stir fried vegetables for dinner, the dish that always makes me wonder how something without meat can taste so good, and we finished the wine. If I had to sum up the mood that night, it would be with one word, happy. I was with the man I loved, we were both healthy, had just had mind-blowing sex, and he fed me. It doesn't get any better than that in my book. And that was the best preparation for the day that followed.
I was sitting in my Hummer, idling at the curb in front of the bonds office, trying to give myself a little pep talk. It had been my idea, and Ranger and I had worked out the details, so it would work, I was sure of it. But a lot depended on it and if something wrong, I might never dare to look at Lula and Connie ever again.
I took a final deep breath, killed the engine and got out of the car. Hoisting my shoulder bag up, I straightened and walked into the office.
"Hey Conn, how are you?" The smile on my face already hurt, I was too nervous.
"Got a new skip for ya," Connie said and held up a file. "Came in last night, not worth much, but not armed either."
I took the file from Connie, signed my part of the apprehension agreement and stuffed the folder into my bag.
"That makes it three, I better get going," I said, already turning to go. Okay, so I usually stayed for a little chat, but there were days when I was in and out, it wasn't that unusual. Right?
"Everything okay?" Connie asked. Shit.
"Sure. I just want to get started, I've had John Sturrock for almost a week now."
The phone rang and diverted Connie's attention, and I was off the hook. I speed walked back to my car and practically lunged inside.
"Real smooth," Ranger's voice said in my ear.
"Shut up," I told him, but without any heat, I knew he was right.
I think Ranger only agreed to wear the mike and the ear peace because he knew the curiosity would kill me, I had to know what he was doing or I'd go insane.
Following the plan, I drove away from the bonds office, although I had no intention on going after an FTA until this was over, I could hardly concentrate on driving the few blocks to iHop, where we'd agreed to meet.
I sat down at a table, ordered a coffee and pressed the ear piece further into my ear; I didn't want to miss a thing. I didn't have to wait long, after a couple minutes, I heard the click that signaled Ranger had turned on his mike again.
"I'm going in," he said and then, I assumed to whoever was with him in his car, "This won't take long."
I was so nervous I sloshed the coffee all over the table when I tried to pick up the cup. Of course this was ridiculous, I knew it, too, but I couldn't help it. In a way, this was the first plan I had come up with that Ranger was executing, I had stage fright!
I heard Ranger greet Connie and talk to her about an FTA, then he asked, "Is Vinnie in?"
Connie said he was and to go right in.
I wiped up the coffee with some napkins and tried to look normal, not insane like I felt. I'd picked the iHop because they didn't know me here and wouldn't think it was unusual for me not to order the big breakfast, just coffee.
"Vinnie, I need to talk to you," Ranger said and I sat up straight in anticipation.
"Sure thing, Ranger, what can I do for you?"
"Actually, it's something I want you to stop doing," Ranger said, and his voice had turned icy.
I could practically see Vinnie squirming as I imagined the look that went with the voice. He must have just nodded, since the mike didn't pick up a response. All I could hear was the rustle of clothes for a beat.
"You're poaching in my territory," Ranger said.
"Huh?" Vinnie said. "What do you mean? If it's about your cut, it's all fair and square, you see the amount when you sign…" Vinnie was rambling. Oh yeah, Ranger was giving him the killer look.
"Joyce," Ranger said. "Stay away from her."
"Joyce?" Vinnie asked. "Joyce? I though you and Steph…"
"That's none of your business," Ranger cut him off. "I hear Joyce is in your office with the door closed ever again, they'll need dental records to identify your body. Am I making myself clear?"
A strangled nose from Vinnie was the response. I bit down on the inside of my cheek to keep the giggles in.
"Does Steph kn…"
"No!" Ranger barked. "And she won't know any more than Lucille does. Consider this your only warning. I'll be watching you."
Then I heard the door slam and Ranger wishing Connie a nice day. I let out a long breath. Ranger's part was done. Now we had to check if the plan was working.
I got my cell phone out of my bag and dialed Joyce's number. "Joyce, it's Steph," I said when she answered. And without any pleasantries, I went on.
"Just so you know, the new high bond FTA, Chris Cleaver, is mine, Vinnie already signed the contract over, so don't try anything funny!"
"We'll see about that," Joyce just said and hung up.
Ranger and I had agreed to meet at the diner after everything was over, but I couldn't wait and sit on my hands any longer. I paid for my coffee and sprinted out of the restaurant, peeling out of the parking lot with screeching tires.
Ranger's SUV was parked across the street from the bonds office, about half a block away. I parked behind him and got out my binoculars.
Just as planned, Joyce's Cherokee pulled up not twenty minutes later and she marched into the bonds office like a woman on a mission. I held my breath.
Before I turned blue from oxygen deprivation, Joyce came back out of the office, her face red, her mouth moving, I was surprised I couldn't hear her rant from where I was. She got into her car and cut into oncoming traffic as she drove off.
It worked! It worked!! I scrambled out of my car and ran to Ranger's, just as I saw him get out of the passenger side. I launched myself at him and he caught me, holding me to him.
"Thank you," I said breathlessly, "Thank you, thank you, thank you." And I peppered his face with kisses.
He laughed and put me down on the ground again. "You're welcome."
I slung my arms around his neck and pulled him down to me, smiling. "I think you deserve a bonus."
And then I kissed him, public or not, for all I was worth.I felt happy and free, no more deals and promises to be taken care of hanging over my had, and I was in love.
The End
A/N: Ende, finis, basta, that's it. What do you think? Was everything properly resolved? Do you have an idea for a sequel??