This is the sequel I was warning you about…and by its nature, it's AU, because Joe is still dead. Other than that, I don't think you need to have read 'Living on a Prayer' for it to make sense.

I was insprired by all your wonderful reviews for 'Living on a Prayer', so thank you again.

Muchas gracias to Stayce for suffering through my whining, slapping me when I needed it, and editing.

Please, please, let me know what you think, if it's on the right track, if you hate it, whatever you think!

Keep the Faith

Sequel to Living on a Prayer

Chapter 1

"So where're you goin'?" Lula put down her half-eaten doughnut and stared at me. I shrugged. She was sitting next to me on the faux leather couch, holding her doughnut in one hand and her coffee in the other.

"I don't know about the where so much, I just kind of…you know…need a break." I waved my hand. And if I'd stuttered a little less, my friends might even believe me. Mental grimace.

Okay, so I didn't really have a plan. I just knew I needed to leave town.

This morning, I'd gotten a phone call that made the decision for me.

About six months ago, I sort of maybe promised a local mob boss that I owed him a favor. I'd needed a place to stay and he'd offered his suite in Atlantic City, and I said yes without giving the consequences any thought.

And this morning, he'd phoned to call it in. The favor, that is. Well, Harry the Hammer hadn't called himself, one of his associates, as he called himself, had. Mario Guzzarella. I'd never heard of him, but he knew the details and I hadn't told a soul about 'the deal', so he had to be the real deal.

And that's just the latest dilemma I, Stephanie Plum, have gotten myself into. Every time, I hope it's the last time I get into trouble, but really, I know better by now. Joe Morelli once called me a magnet for disaster. He was right.

Of course, he said that before we started dating, so I didn't know if he still thought so later on. Joe was killed about six months ago and my phone call to Harry the Hammer had been a direct result of that. And I thought it made perfect sense that I didn't care what I promised at the time, it was pretty traumatic. It had been vague, too. Harry'd let me use his hotel suite in exchange for a favor 'to be named later', so I'd agreed without hesitating.

Nevertheless, here it was, Harry calling in his marker.

I looked up from my doughnut to see both Lula and Connie looking at me expectantly. I knew they wanted more. They weren't just colleagues, they were friends. And friends had a right to all the dirt.

Except I might have forgotten to tell them about this part. Lula knew through Tank that I'd been in Atlantic City, but she didn't know I'd been staying in a penthouse suite in the Taj Mahal. I wasn't sure exactly how much Tank had told her, but he wasn't known for talking about work in general. After the excitement was over. I'd filled them in on some of the details, but I conveniently forgot to mention Harry the Hammer. Apparently, his daughter, Vinnie's wife Lucille, had never told him about the call I made to her asking for Harry's number, at least Vinnie had never asked me about it.

I shrugged. "Not much going on here, I figured now would be a good time to take a vacation."

It was true to some extent, not many people were jumping bail, I'd made about $500 so far this month. If I didn't have my other job at RangeMan, I'd have to sleep under a bridge soon.

"When will you be back?" Connie interrupted my thoughts. "With Ranger gone, Vinnie depends on you, you know." She indicated the spot on her desk where the FTA files were usually waiting for me. There weren't any today, but that could change.

"I'll have my cell phone with me," I said. "Besides, I was thinking Point Pleasant, not Jamaica. I'll be around if you need me." Actually, I was thinking the exact opposite direction of the shore, but I didn't want anyone to know. Not that here was much to know since I hadn't a location in mind, but still. Connie didn't look like she believed me, but maybe I was just paranoid.

The office phone rang at that moment and I was off the hook. I glanced at my watch. "Oh, look at the time, I'm late for a dentist appointment."

I grabbed my pocketbook before Lula could realize I just ate half a dozen doughnuts without brushing my teeth afterwards and I gave Connie a finger wave. She frowned at me, probably trying to tell me she wasn't done yet, but she was talking to someone on the phone so I just smiled back at her and left.

I hustled to my car and didn't let out the breath I was holding until I peeled away from the curb. I was sure Lula and Connie were going to ask me again, but for right now, I'd escaped the Trenton inquisition.

I didn't even know why I couldn't just say, 'Look, when Joe was killed and I tried to hide from Ranger, Harry the Hammer let me use his hotel room in Atlantic City and now he wants me to return the favor'. What's the big deal, right?

Okay, I could practically see Lula's jaw hitting the floor if I said that. And Connie would suck in some air and get that knowing look she gets when the conversation turns to the Family. It wasn't so much that I was keeping it a secret; I just didn't want to deal with the reactions.

And another thing was that if I said it out loud, it would be true. If I never told anyone, I could pretend it was just a bad dream.

Yep, denial is not just a river in Egypt.

And the worst thing was that I had no idea what this favor entailed. It could be entirely legal, like maybe grocery shopping for Harry's mom. But somehow I didn't think so. My spidey-sense had tingled the moment Mario had uttered the word 'job'. I was pretty sure Harry wouldn't ask me to kill anyone, he probably had professionals for that, which was an equally disturbing thought. It was more what my imagination could come up with that scared me. Ever since the phone call, I saw myself as a Jersey version of Mata Hari. While there was a chance this returned favor was morally and legally right, I doubted it.

I was driving on autopilot, I had no idea where I was going until I turned into my apartment building's parking lot. The no-frills building looked even gloomier on a rainy day like today. And as usual, my senior neighbors had taken all the good parking spots with their handicapped stickers.

I locked my car and trekked back to the building's rear door, got my mail out of the mailbox and took the elevator upstairs. My apartment was completely quiet, since my hamster Rex was asleep in his soup can.

I plopped down on my bed in my thinking position, spread-eagle on my back, but I didn't want to think. I'd much rather forget the whole thing. Hence the vacation plans.

My first instinct after I got the phone call had been to call Ranger, and I had actually been glad I couldn't get in touch with him for the first time since he left. This was my trouble, that I had gotten myself into, and I'd be the one getting myself out of.

I rolled my eyes at myself. That would be a first. At the very least, I needed Lula's help. All by myself, my success rate wasn't that great. It was because I'd thought I was better off by myself that caused me to call Harry in the first place.

And I guess when your boyfriend is an ex-Special Forces security expert, it makes sense to ask him for help. I'd sort of forgotten to tell Ranger about that part of the deal too, but he'd understand. He'd give me 'the Look', but he'd understand.

Except, he'd accepted a very lucrative government job and was incommunicado. I didn't know if he was in Newark or New Guinea, if he was infiltrating Microsoft or Drugs 'R' Us. All he told me was that it was a government contract. And I knew that could mean a million things, but he couldn't tell me more. He also told me not to worry because he'd be fine. By telling me he'd be fine he pretty much guaranteed I'd worry myself sick, but I didn't say anything.

And that had been a week ago, I haven't heard from him since. Well, not since the morning that followed the night that followed our little talk, anyway. I smiled at the memory. I was wondering if the plan had been to leave me sore and immobile until he came back, it sure felt like that at the time. We'd made love over and over and over until we collapsed in each other's arms. I got warm just thinking about it.

And now that I was thinking, I realized I really had two problems: Harry the Hammer, a man I've never dealt with but whose reputation preceded him was 'requesting my attendance at meeting', as Mario had put it.

And number two, I was missing Ranger. A lot. Ever since we'd gotten together I'd never not seen him for more than two days. It irritated me a little that I missed him so much, because that meant I was losing some of my independence. Of course I couldn't care less about my independence when Ranger was around. So really, I was irritated because he was away, because that made me miss him, simple as that.

I grunted and hit the mattress with my fist. I was too agitated to sleep and I hadn't had any great thoughts in my thinking position.

What now? Should I change and drive to RangeMan to work a shift as if nothing had happened? Should I pack a bag and grab Bob and Rex and just drive?

I had to admit I mostly knew rumors about the mob, but I had a feeling Harry had ways of finding me. And really, I was acting childish, I didn't even know what the favor was yet. I could at least find out what it was and worry then.

With that resolved, I jumped up and took a shower. The queen of denial at work.

I dropped Bob off at my parents' and went to work. I gave the guys in the control room a finger wave on my way to my cubicle and turned on my PC.

My Inbox was always full when I got to work in the afternoon, and today was no exception. With a deep sigh, I picked up the first file and got started. I ran most of the searches mechanically, since I didn't know the person behind them. They were requests by Accounting or Sales, nothing exciting. I called Mary Lou while the first search was running to catch up on the latest gossip.

Since Ranger wasn't in the office, Tank was in charge. Although everyone respected Tank, conversation didn't stop dead when he entered the room, so I didn't immediately notice when he came in and stood behind me. I turned around because it was suddenly darker in my cube.

"Is something wrong?" I asked, "Did you hear from Ranger? He's not hurt, is he?" I didn't know why I was jumping to all these conclusions, probably because Tank never just 'stopped by'; he always had a reason when he talked to me.

He was smiling now. "Ranger is fine. I mean, I think he's okay, I haven't heard anything to the contrary." He studied his hands. "I need to talk to you about something…personal."

He motioned for me to follow him and went into Ranger's office. To say I was curious was an understatement. I'd never had a personal conversation with Tank before.

"So…have you talked to Lula lately?" He asked when he sat down in the executive chair behind the desk. I laughed in relief. Lula! Of course! Mental head slap. I could have really thought of that myself.

"Earlier today," I said. Tank gave me a puzzled look because I was laughing. "I stopped by the bonds office." Tank nodded but didn't say anything. He picked up a pencil and started tapping it on the desk. Was he…could it be that Tank was nervous?

"Why?" I asked when the silence stretched on for too long.

"So…tomorrow is our anniversary…we've been seeing each other for a year and…" I raised my eyebrows. Did he remember that or did Lula remind him?

"…and I got this gift for Lula, but I need a second opinion…" He stopped when he looked up and saw my expression, obviously drawing the wrong conclusion. I was shocked to have this conversation with Tank, not to have this conversation in general. I quickly put a smile on my face, I really didn't mean to make him feel uncomfortable.

"What is it? Show me," I encouraged him, so he got up and pulled a small box out of his cargos. For a moment I thought it was an engagement ring, but then he opened it to reveal a beautiful diamond stud. From its size, I was guessing two carats easily. Tank shifted his weight. "It's for her…" I looked up when he didn't finish. He swore under his breath.

"Earlobe?" I tried. Tank shook his head. "I can't believe I'm telling you this," he started again, "It's for her navel. I'm gonna ask her to have her belly button pierced with this." He exhaled and ran his hand over his bald head.

I got choked up when I looked from the earring to Tank. It wasn't just the gift; it was his insecurity over it. I didn't think tank and Lula were, I don't know, that serious. The diamond proved me totally wrong. I was happy Lula'd found a man who loved her for who she was and the way she was. She deserved it.

"It's 100 percent Lula," I assured him, "And she's gonna love it!" Tank's face lit up. "That's what I'm hoping," he said. I told him a couple more times how much Lula would like the diamond, especially as an anniversary present, before I left his office to get back to my cube.

My voicemail light was on. That was odd, because my friends and family just called my cell phone when they needed to talk to me, and everybody at RangeMan either yelled over or sent me emails.

I had to search my notes for the pass code and when I finally got through, I was surprised to hear Ranger's voice. "Babe," he said. There was a lot of background noise, I didn't know if it was the connection or something else. The noise continued for a few more seconds, but he didn't say any more.

I replayed the message half a dozen times, just in case I'd missed something, but that was all he'd said. What did this mean? Was he okay? Did something happen while he was on the phone?

I looked up, chewing my lip. Could I ask one of the guys? Maybe Tank was still in Ranger's office, I thought, and got up to find him. Tank would know.

He wasn't in Ranger's office, but I eventually found him working out in the gym.

"Something wrong?" He asked when he turned off the treadmill. As usual, my confusion was probably written all over my face.

"I need you to listen to something…tell me," I gestured wildly, "Tell me what it means." Tank frowned and reached for a towel to wipe his face. "Did you pick up another stalker?"

I shook my head 'no', although he had a point, it was a good guess. I'd been stalker free for six months now and thanked my lucky stars for it every day.

"I got a message from Ranger, only…" I chewed my lower lip, "I need you to listen to it to tell me what it means."

Tank followed me out of the gym and back to my cube. I could have accessed my voicemail from any phone in the building, but I wasn't thinking that far.

Tank listened to the message, pressed 0 to hear it again and the blank face slid into place. Probably every Merry Man got a lesson in blank face their first week with RangeMan, they all had a version of it.

"What do you think?" I finally asked when he didn't say anything. Tank rubbed his chin with his hand, obviously thinking about how to say what he thought.

"I think he called the office because he knew the lines are secure." I motioned for him to continue, trying hard not to jump up and down screaming at him to go on. "And…?"

"Probably he couldn't say more because his position was compromised," Tank finished. I raised my eyebrows. "Can you explain that for us civilians?"

Tank chuckled. "It means he called to talk to you but got interrupted. What confused you about it?" I sighed. Where to begin?

"You think he didn't call my cell phone because the call could be traced?" Tank nodded. "Why would it matter, who would trace it? Is someone monitoring his calls?" He shrugged, "It depends on the mission he's on."

"And…?" I prodded again. Getting information out of Tank was like pulling teeth. This time he almost-shrugged. He moved one shoulder a fraction of an inch. "I don't know what the job is, so I can't tell you anything about it. Ranger's fine."

"How do you know?"

"He called, didn't he?" Tank said and looked at me like I was a little slow. I sighed. I needed a female version of Tank, she'd know how to tell me what I wanted to know.

I thanked Tank and got back to work, but my mind stayed with the phone call. I hadn't heard any sounds of fighting or gunshots in the background, so Ranger may have just gotten disconnected. Maybe he was in some third world country where the phone lines were unreliable. Unfortunately that opened up a whole box of 'what if's', so it didn't exactly calm me down.

By 5:30, I had run all the searches in my Inbox, printed out the results and put them in the requestor's mailbox. I listened to Ranger's message one more time, then I logged off and gathered my things to leave.

And since I didn't feel like spending the evening alone, driving myself crazy with the message, I decided to stay at my parents' house for dinner.

Ever since Joe had died, I'd made sure I spent as much time as possible with my family. I'd learned that everything you hold dear could be taken from you at any moment, so I made sure I enjoyed it while it lasted.

Probably Bob heard my car, he rushed out to greet me when my mom opened the storm door. Grandma Mazur was right behind her.

"He ate a sofa cushion," Mom said by way of greeting. "I told her she should be glad he didn't find my prunes," Grandma Mazur snickered.

Bob pushed against me to make me pet him, then he sniffed at my pocketbook. When he realized I didn't carry anything edible, he turned around and bolted back up the stoop.

"Sorry about the cushion," I said automatically and mom made a dismissive gesture. She'd gotten used to Bob. He stayed with them two to three days a week, whenever I didn't bring him into the office. My parents' house was his second home.

"We're having stuffed cabbage tonight, are you staying for dinner?" Mom asked when I followed her into the house. I knew she'd made enough for a much larger family, and she always expected me to stay, but she still smiled when I told her I'd stay.

Dad was watching TV in the living room and Bob had taken his spot under the dining table since he knew it was dinnertime. Mom was putting the finishing touches on dinner and Grandma Mazur started setting the table. I looked from one to the other and smiled. My parents' house was where I came if I wanted a routine, no surprises. Even the chaos that Val's kids brought when they showed up for dinner was predictable.

No other part of my life was as comfortably predictable as my parents' house. I had no idea where Ranger was or what he was doing there and a mob boss wanted me to do him a favor. But tonight, there were stuffed cabbage rolls on the table and the real world would have to wait.

When I opened my apartment door two hours later, I was pleasantly anesthetized with good food. And if it wore off, I could raid the giant bag of leftovers Mom had sent me home with.

Bob went straight to the kitchen to inspect his bowls, making me laugh. Just because he'd just eaten more than a horse didn't mean he didn't have to check what food was left at home.

I said hi to Rex and gave him some peas and a chunk of the piecrust from my stash of leftovers, put the rest in the fridge and went to the answering machine that was blinking.

One phone solicitor promising me a lower rate if I refinanced my home, that was an easy delete. The second message was from Mario Guzzarella, telling me he'd pick me up tomorrow at noon. Gulp. I felt the first tendrils of panic in my stomach.

This meant I had to find a place to go between now and tomorrow. Except I was pretty sure Harry knew all about my family and friends, and he'd look for me there first.

I snorted. What was I thinking? I wasn't important enough for Harry to search high and low for me! If I wasn't here tomorrow at noon, Mario would probably leave a card with his number so I could call him. This wasn't some Godfather deal, it was just a meeting. Nothing that couldn't be postponed. I told Bob not to worry, and he seemed to believe me. Now I only had to convince myself.

I stood at the kitchen counter, chewing my lower lip, humming 'Should I stay or should I go' under my breath. Even after six months, I still felt the urge to call Morelli and get his opinion. Well, I wouldn't tell him exactly what it was about, he'd been a cop after all, but I might have picked his brain about Harry the Hammer in general and Mario Guzzarella specifically.

Well, I thought, I couldn't ask Joe, but I had plenty of friends still on the force. I called one of my best friends, Eddie Gazarra.

I could hear my cousin Shirley in the background and his boys fighting, but Eddie seemed happy to hear from me. After the exchange of pleasantries, I didn't really know how to inconspicuously turn the conversation to Harry. I started by asking what he was working on and he was happy to share.

"So who's working in vice these days?" I asked afterwards, congratulating myself on the segue. "Oh, you know, Hempstead got promoted out of uniform and they added two guys from Newark. Did extensive background checks on them first though." He didn't have to explain why that was important. Thomalla had transferred from Newark the year before and had turned out to be a mole for the mob.

"Is there a lot of mob activity?" I asked, pretending to be interested in Joe's line of work. At least I hoped that's how Eddie would interpret it. He told me about a gambling ring and some dealers, but he didn't mention Harry or Guzzarella. And suddenly I felt I'd burst if I didn't tell anyone. Why I chose it to be Eddie and not Lula, Connie or Tank, I'll never know.

"Eddie, can you meet me for lunch tomorrow?" I asked. "There's something I'd like to discuss…" Thankfully, Eddie didn't ask why I couldn't tell him over the phone and agreed to meet me at Pino's the next day.

I felt better when I hung up. I didn't know if I'd go through with it and tell Eddie, but I felt like I had at least somewhat of a plan, more than I'd had before the phone call.

I took Bob out for his last tinkle, and as usual I was wondering if I should move into a row house so I'd have a backyard to let him out to. And as usual I dismissed the idea because a house would just be too much upkeep, like everyone would expect my windows to be clean at all times. Too much work.

Bob settled on his dog bed after we got back up and I did the bathroom thing and went to bed as well, even though it was barely past ten. If I stayed up, I might rethink the decision to tell Eddie and that would lead to more thinking and I'd never be able to fall asleep. So it was better to fall asleep before the thinking could start.

Well, at least that had been the plan. My brain didn't let me get away with it though, I lay awake, staring at the ceiling, missing Ranger, worrying over Harry. I grunted and turned around, hoping another position might shut of my brain.

Bob was snoring softly, Rex was running on his wheel, and I kept tossing and turning. Around 2 AM, I gave up. I pulled a sweatshirt over my pyjama top, stuck my feet into a pair of sneakers, put my SEALs hat over my rat's nest of hair and stuffed my RangeMan uniform in my purse. I knew a place where I'd be able to fall asleep, I was sure of it.

At this time of night, traffic was very light. It took me less than twenty minutes to drive my RangeMan issued Explorer to Haywood Street. I parked in one of the employee spots, waved at the security camera and walked over to the elevator. God knew what the Merry Men on duty thought of me arriving at 2:30 in the morning, I really couldn't care less. And I wasn't going to explain myself, I just pressed the 7 button to get me straight up to Ranger's apartment.

The idea was that I'd be able to fall asleep surrounded by Ranger's sheets and the ghost of Ranger's scent that always lingered in his bed.

But as I stood in front of his door now, I wasn't so sure that it had been a good idea anymore. Of course now, I reasoned, I had to go in, because I was sure I was being watched on the security cameras. I knew that the guys followed any movement at this time of the night, since there was never much going on.

I sighed, held the key fob against the reader and let myself in. As soon as I closed the front door behind me, cool darkness enveloped me. There always seemed to be an air of peace in Ranger's apartment, too, I couldn't explain it.

I tossed my keys into the tray on the sideboard and was about to flick the light switch when I realized the light filtering in from the outside was enough for me to see my way around.

I dropped my pocketbook in the hallway and went to the kitchen to get a beer. There was no beer in Ranger's fridge, so I got a bottle of water and some cheese.

I draped my sweatshirt over one of the kitchen stools and put my hat on top while I ate. I took off my sneakers and was ready to go to bed when I heard a noise from the bedroom and froze.

Ranger's car hadn't been in his parking spot, so it was unlikely he was home. Oh God, what if one of the Merry Men had 'borrowed' Ranger's place for the night and had a girl with him in the other room? I'd die of embarrassment, I was sure of it. Then again, the Merry Men had their apartments on the fourth floor and I honestly doubted Ranger would let any of them have his place, whether he was in town or not. And all of the guys respected Ranger far too much to go behind his back.

I was still standing a few feet from the bedroom door when another thought occurred to me. What if, and I knew how unlikely it was, given all the security around here, but what if someone had broken in and was going through Ranger's stuff at this very moment?

What if they hadn't come up through the building? I wasn't sure RangeMan had cameras on the outside, what if this guy had Spider-Manned his way up the building and broken in? Maybe he knew exactly where to go to get to Ranger's files, and he wasn't after money or jewelry at all? My heart started pounding in my chest as I was trying to think of what I should do.

A soft thud broke me out of my paralysis and I slowly backed up to where I had dropped my pocketbook. I couldn't remember if I'd packed my gun, but I definitely had my mace, or at least my hairspray, in it.

Now I was glad I hadn't bothered with the lights, I would have given away my presence. With any luck, whoever it was had been too busy rummaging through Ranger's stuff to hear me and I still had the element of surprise.

I rummaged through my purse, resisting the urge to just dump it out on the floor because that would have been too noisy. My fingers finally curled around my defense spray and I had to stifle a scream of joy. I pulled it out of the purse, shook it to make sure it was live and turned back towards the bedroom door.

I grabbed my hat on the way past the stool to rein in my wild hair and tiptoed across the room until I was standing inches from the door, holding the spray in front of me with my finger on the release button.

I slowly reached for the doorknob, but before I could grasp it, the door was yanked open from the inside. Before my brain could process what my eyes were seeing, I pushed my finger down on the spray.

I started screaming when I realized I was looking into Ranger's widening eyes behind the barrel of his gun. My only conscious thought was 'Fuck!' when I saw his finger curl around the trigger.

TBC – I think

A/N: Would Ranger shoot Stephanie? Why would he even be there without telling her? Do you want to know?