Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters or are using them to make money.

A/N: This came to me in a late night inspiration, not really sure where I am going with it, but I should mention that I am a Babe, and that if you have any suggestions or story lines you would like to see, I'm up for a challenge!

Chapter One

I couldn't believe what I had just done. I was certifiably nuts. If I was caught, no scratch that, when I was caught, I was either going to be sent to the nut house, or arrested. The latter would consist of felony fleeing, grand theft auto, breaking and entering, robbery, and that was just to begin with!

I guess I should start at the beginning. I mean, technically this is the beginning, a new beginning for me. But that still doesn't explain why I, Stephanie Plum, the Bombshell bounty hunter, was barrelling down the I-65 Southbound in a stolen truck, Joe's to be more specific, with forty grand in cash sitting next to me. Forty grand on a bond cash out that was supposed to be delivered to Ranger, by me.

It began with one of those off again and on again fights with Joe Morelli, my on a again off again boyfriend, who was now defiantly off again as soon as he noticed his truck was missing. I was tired of feeling like we were dancing in circles, never bending or compromising for the other. It's hard to be in a relationship if your reasons are purely selfish. And I wasn't referring to me here.

Do I want to get married? I don't know, the first one was such a failure I wasn't sure if I could handle that again. Who knows, if the right guy came along --- now who am I trying to shit here? He was already in my life. The dark, tall and ever mysterious Ranger. The Cuban Sex God. Eeek! I don't even want to go there right now. I might drive into a tree. Then there was the talk about how I suck at my job, and that I should resign myself to the 'Burg lifestyle. Why? Didn't the generations before spend hundreds of years fighting for the right to have a choice? Joe wasn't too impressed with that comment. When it was all said and done with, Joe resigned himself upstairs to bed, and left me alone in the dark with my thoughts.

I didn't love Joe any more, but how could you tell someone you've know you're whole life that? And how do you tell someone who doesn't say more then 3 words, which the majority consist of 'Babe', that you are hopelessly and utterly in love with them?

Either way, I was condemning myself to a life of misery. The 'Burg would shun me for Joe, and Ranger would distance himself in self preservation.

So, I did what I had been doing all my life. Deny deny deny, and run away as fast as I could. I tucked Rex under my arm, kissed Bob good-bye and ran out the door, truck keys in my hand. I knew he had a full tank of gas, and no tracking bugs. I also knew that wouldn't stop them from finding me, so I switched the license plates, dumped the contents of my purse and did the next stupidest thing I could think of, which involved the duffel bag I left at my apartment that belonged to Ranger. I knew cash was hard to trace.

So, here I am, headed south for whatever reason, in the dead of night, with a hamster as my co-pilot and two majority pissed off guys (that is, when they wake up) in my past. * shudder * and I pressed my foot down on the accelerator.

I needed a break. I needed to clear my head. I needed to find myself outside of that pressure war zone. But secretly, I was running, scared. Let's be honest here, Joe would be pissed, but he moves on. Ranger, oh god, Ranger...well, he held it all in, and I didn't want to be within 200 miles of him when he finds out.

I was scared shitless of Ranger.