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It had been a long day that had turned into a long night and when his phone rang at 0230, just as he'd shut off his office computer and locked away the folders he'd been working on, he almost didn't answer. He was long, long off the clock and he'd be on-shift again at 0600 and a couple hours of sleep first was sounding good. But it was a call from an on-duty Rangeman to his personal cell number, so he picked up.
“Yo,” he said.
“Boss,” Ram said. “Cal and I are over at The Haven, filling in tonight as extra bouncers?”
Ranger lifted an eyebrow, even though he knew Ram couldn't see him. He knew where they were, he'd signed the short-term contract for his men to fill in as extra bouncers over the weekend at the club. It had opened last week and the crowds had been bigger than expected and the club owner had been desperate for the extra help. Since Rangeman provided the electronic security and monitoring for the club and the owner's other businesses and his home, Ranger had been willing to temporarily provide a service that Rangeman didn't normally handle.
“And..?” he said.
“And, Cal and I thought you would want to know. Stephanie Plum and her friends are here, and well,...” Ram hesitated.
“What?” he snapped, sitting up in his chair.
“They're fine,” Ram said quickly. “They've just had a few too many Cosmos to drink, and it's still an hour until closing and we're under contract to stay ..”
“On my way,” Ranger said, trying not to sigh as he hung up. She'd asked him for space. To give her time to think without pressure. And yet he was going to her anyway.
Ten minutes later, he pulled his Porsche 911 S/T into the loading zone in the alley next to the bar. He took a few steps toward the end of the alley, staying in the shadows.
The Haven was part of a new development called Market Square, which consisted of several buildings surrounding a large open plaza with a huge fountain at the center. Most of the other businesses were retail stores and smaller cafes that closed relatively early, only the bar was open late.
The Jersey night air was hot and sticky, heat still rising from the concrete – it didn't cool off much at night in late summer. He could hear the building's rooftop A/C systems howling at the highest setting, competing with the bass thump of music from the club.
Patrons were leaving the bar, singly and in small groups, headed away from the Market Square and into the parking area. Ram stood by the door, keeping an eye on people headed to their cars. Then he snapped to attention and swung the half-open door wide as Connie and Lula marched out, laughing at something. Steph, supporting her friend Mary Lou, was a step behind them. Ram said something to Stephanie, who just laughed him off.
Ranger stepped partly out of the alley, his movement catching Ram's eye, and Ram nodded to him and gave him a two-finger small salute, handing off the watch over to him. Ranger, unseen by the women, nodded and stepped back into the dark alley as Ram turned around and went back into the club to help the rest of the bouncers deal with the last call and closing time crowd.
As the four of them walked out of the club, they all caught sight of the fountain on the far side of the square. The floodlights were on, brightly lighting the sprays of water from the concrete sea creatures that lined all three fountain tiers.
Steph stopped, blinked, and her eyes fired up. She let go of Mary Lou and took a step toward the fountain. Her hand went to the deep vee neckline of her dark blue dress and she grabbed the vee of the dress, fluttering it back and forth, presumably to cool off her body. When that didn't work, she pulled the vee out as far as she could and then blew air down the front of the dress to cool her over-heated body.
Ranger, leaning against the wall in the alley, shifted his body in response. He wanted to have his hands on her even when she was covered in garbage after chasing down a skip – to see her tonight, her hair wild and free, wearing a short tight dress and laughing, made him want to drag her into the dark alley with him and kiss her until her eyes glazed over and she lost the power of speech.
“That water looks so good,” she murmured. She stepped forward and dipped her hand into the water. “It's so nice and cool.”
Ranger's lips twitched. It was inevitable at this point.
She splashed Lula first, who immediately leaned forward and splashed her back.
“Oh, no, girl,” Lula said, “you ain't getting me wet without no payback.” She scooped up more water in Steph's direction, but most of it landed on Connie, who shrieked.
Connie jumped into the fountain, splashing water toward both Steph and Lula. At that point it became a melee, all four women in the water. Mary Lou was trying to defend Steph from the combined splashing onslaught of Lula and Connie, but the Burg girls were going down, drenched.
He leaned against the brick wall in the dark alleyway, watching the antics in the fountain, which were happening right behind the “please keep out of the fountain” and “trespassers will be prosecuted” and “absolutely no trespassing” signs. Although he wasn't even remotely tempted to join the women in the water, he found them amusing and smiled at the light-hearted play as they stomped around in the water, splashing each other and laughing.
It was good to see Stephanie Plum laughing and free – the last couple times he'd seen her at the bonds office, she'd been looking stressed and unhappy. He knew, through the grapevine, that Morelli was pushing her to marry him. She hadn't said yes, but she hadn't said no, either. But she'd asked him to back off, which meant she was considering it.
All of them were soaked all over now and he particularly appreciated the way the thin material of Steph's dress, which had been fitted before, clung to her like a second skin, emphasizing her curves and clinging to her breasts, thighs and ass.
They were all in various states on inebriation due to a combination of alcohol tolerance and consumption level from their girl's night out. Mary Lou, Stephanie's best friend and 'Burg housewife, was the drunkest of the four, with Steph herself running a tipsy second. Too drunk to drive, but she could probably pass a field sobriety test, although maybe not in those 4” heels and skin-tight wet dress. Connie and Lula, possessors of higher alcohol tolerance, were just barely the other side of buzzed.
They'd all need rides home and Ranger got out his phone and texted the control room to send out reinforcements. When he looked up from his phone, the leasing office door opened and a rent-a-cop in a badly-fitted uniform stomped over to the fountain. “Hey!” he said angrily. “Get out of the fountain! Didn't you see the “no trespassing” signs?”
They looked at him and then ignored him, continuing to splash each other.
“Hey, I mean it! Get your ass out of the fountain!” He squared himself off with the women, his hands at his side like a gunfighter in a western.
Lula huffed at him and Steph narrowed her eyes. Ranger shook his head. The man was outmatched and too stupid to know it.
Lula turned to face him. “You talking to me? 'Cause I think you need to be more polite than that.”
“Get your fat ass out of the fountain,” the rent-a-cop shouted at her.
Lula stomped over to the edge of the fountain and kicked water at him. “Fat ass?! You watch that mouth, skinny boy. Just because you are too dumb to appreciate a big beautiful woman don't give you no call to be callin' me fat.”
The rent-a-cop pulled his stun gun off of his belt and waved it in the air and Ranger stepped into the light at the end of the alley with a growl. The rent-a-cop met Ranger's eyes and immediately the stun gun was lowered and the man took several steps backward, away from the fountain and the women. The four women, focused on the man and his stun gun, had not seen Ranger yet.
“Ha!” Lula crowed. “That's right, skinny boy, you just back away from me while you still can, before I mess you up!” She did a little dance in the water, positive that her ferocity had driven him away, and kicked water in his direction again.
The rent-a-cop put his stun gun back on his belt and pulled out his phone. “Hello, 911? We have a situation here. This is Officer Wallace at the Market Square property and I have just been threatened by a group of trespassers. Officer needs assistance immediately.”
Ranger knew he could step in and end this now – get them out of the fountain and headed home, before the cops showed up – but he decided that it was in his best interest to let it play out the way it likely would.
“The police are on their way! I told you to get out and you wouldn't listen!”
Mary Lou made a little hiccuping noise. “The police? No, no, no.” She started to cry, and the other three women gathered around her.
Mary Lou pulled away from them and tripped, abruptly sitting down in the fountain, still crying. Her large purse fell off her shoulder and opened up into the water, spilling all the contents in the bottom of the fountain. While Steph patted her on the back, Lula and Connie waded across the fountain, retrieving Mary Lou's possessions.
It took several minutes for Mary Lou's sobs to drop back to sniffles and for Connie and Lula to gather up all the missing items. They were still in the fountain, although not quite enjoying it as much.
Ranger straightened when a police car cruised up to the center of Market Square, stopping near the fountain, and two officers got out and walked over to the fountain. He recognized the officers and he'd dealt with Mendoza and Richman before and found them reasonable; they were unlikely to cause any trouble for her. The real fireworks would come later, after someone made the inevitable call.
Still, given Steph's propensity to find trouble and Lula's innate ability to make any situation worse, he kept careful watch, moving completely out of the shadow of the alley and into the square, where the two policemen would know he was observing them.
“So, ladies,” Officer Richman said with a laugh. “Going for a swim?”
Officer Mendoza smiled at his partner. “You haven't met her yet, but that's Stephanie Plum. And ... Rissoli, isn't it, from Plum Bail Bonds?”
Steph and Connie smiled at him. “Umm, yes, Officer...” Steph started.
“Where's Officer Wallace? ” Officer Richman asked, looking around the square for a fellow officer.
“I'm Officer Wallace!” The rent-a-cop heard his cue and came forward.
Officer Mendoza looked at the rent-a-cop and laughed. “Did you tell 911 you were a police officer in need of urgent assistance? From four drunk women in a fountain? That might be a false report.”
“I'm not an official policeman,” he said, “but I've got a badge!” He showed the two officers his shiny badge. They were not impressed.
“You ain't an official nothing,” Lula said. “'Cept maybe an ass.”
Richman rolled his eyes, went back to the cruiser and keyed the radio. Ranger didn't hear much of the conversation, but the words 'Stephanie Plum' stood out.
“Lula, hush,” Connie whispered fiercely.
“I want them arrested for trespass and threatening bodily harm!”
Mary Lou started to sniff again.
“Those are pretty serious charges,” Officer Mendoza said.
"But, Officer, it's all a mistake..." Steph started. “We never threatened him. We just … ignored him.”
“And all the signs, apparently,” Mendoza said, pointing to all of the warning signs around the fountain.
Steph's hands were spread out in a placating gesture, “Well, it was just hot inside the club and the water looked so inviting.”
Mendoza dipped a hand in the water. “It is nice,” he said. “But, rules are rules. Out of the water, ladies. I think we can forget about any charges here.”
Lula did not take the order well and she and Connie started to argue about following orders from police offers.
That made Mary Lou sob harder, for some reason, and Steph turned back to her.
“No!" The rent-a-cop stepped forward and waved his hands at the two officers. "You can't just let them go! We have to have an example here or that club crowd will be in the fountain every night! This isn't the first time!”
It took even less time than Ranger had expected for Morelli to show up. He pulled his undercover cruiser to the end of the alley and got out, coming to stand in front of Ranger, facing the square.
“You're here,” Morelli said, over his shoulder. “I should have known. Stephanie's in trouble, Manoso must be around somewhere.”
“Got a call, same as you.”
Morelli watched the scene – the four women in the fountain, Mary Lou crying, Lula belligerent, Connie with her hands on her hips yelling at Lula and Steph with her hands out in front of her, trying to placate the cops, and the rent-a-cop hovering behind the cops and demanding action. A crowd of bar patrons gathered on the other side of the cops to watch the event and root for the women. He frowned and put a hand to his gut.
"She's making a fool out of herself with this show," Morelli said, his mouth drawn tight.
"Is that what you see?"
"She's thirty-one years old, skunk-drunk, splashing in a public fountain, fighting with the cops and being cheered on by a bunch of drunk bar losers, at..." Morelli checked his watch again. "...almost 3am. Yeah, I'd say that about covers it."
"She's not actually drunk," Ranger murmured. "Just having a good time with her friends.”
“Connie and Lula are as much of a walking disaster as she is. And Mary Lou has a husband and kids, the last thing she needs is to be hauled off for public drunkenness and assault. It'll be all over the Burg by morning mass and she won't be able to hold her head up in public for weeks.”
“Such a narrow little world you want Stephanie to fit in to.”
Morelli swung to face him. “It's her world and her people, too. The people who love her. She wants to fit in.” His eyes narrowed. “Not something I expect some loner mercenary understands.”
Ranger tipped his head to Morelli, acknowledging that point. Steph's desire to fit into a mold she was clearly not meant for was not something he understood.
Morelli stalked to where the police officers were confronting Steph in the fountain. “Okay, ladies,” Morelli said, clipping his badge to his belt and stepping into the middle of the dispute. “You've had your fun for the night. Out of the water, now.”
Mendoza nodded to Morelli. “Detective Morelli. Did TPD send you?”
Morelli shook his head. “Heard it on the scanner from up the street and then got a call.”
“Joe,” Steph said, clearly surprised. “What are you doing here?”
“What else would I be doing here?” he answered. “Got a call. C'mon,” he said again with a frown, “get out of the water now.”
“Why are you here?” she asked again, making no move to get out of the water.
“It's been a long night, Cupcake, and I am not in the mood for this.”
He reached for her and she pulled back. “Take your mood and go home, Joe. No one asked you to be here!”
Office Mendoza eyed the soaking wet women. “I don't think any action is required here and we were about to release them.” The rent-a-cop squawked his disapproval. “Assuming they eventually get out of the water. You ladies weren't planning to drive tonight, were you?”
“It's handled,” Ranger said, stepping forward into the circle and nodding over to where Vince and Hector stood, on the far side of the plaza. “They all have a safe ride home.”
Morelli looked at Stephanie, the corners of his lips turning down. “So, Ranger to your rescue again, Cupcake? Ever realize that you could have a life where you wouldn't need to call him for a rescue?”
“I didn't call anyone to rescue me tonight because I don't need a rescue! You just showed up, on your own, to give me a lecture. Again!”
“And I'll keep giving you lectures until you grow up!” he growled. “Christ, you are 31 years old, Steph.” He closed his fingers over her arm and pulled her out of the water with a jerk. “A little too old to be giving the crowd a wet t-shirt show, too,” he said, eyeing the tight fit of her dress.
She stumbled getting out of the fountain and then yanked her arm out of his hand. She stood on the pavers, dripping water. “There was a time when you would have just laughed, Joe!”
“Jesus, and there was a time in the Navy when I'd have chugged beer from a beer bong, too. We are too old to do stupid shit like this, Stephanie. It's time to settle down.”
“Settle down in the Burg?”
“The Burg is home and family, Cupcake. How we grew up. What we both know is right. You've had your fling,” his eyes flicked over to Ranger, “and all of your adventures. Time to get past the kid stuff and grow the fuck up.”
“I'm not ready to grow up and be my mother, Joe. I might never be ready to be my mother. What if I want to just be me?”
“Never grow up? Be a kid forever? This is ridiculous, Stephanie.”
“It's not ridiculous, Joe, it's my life. I don't want to be a kid forever, but I want to live the life that I think is right, not the life everyone else thinks I should want.”
Morelli shook his head and rubbed his fingers on his forehead. “Then you might have to live that life by yourself, Steph. Or at least without me.”
She wrapped her arms around herself and looked at the ground. “I think that's the way it's going to be, Joe.”
“Yeah, not doing this in front of Manoso and a bunch of drunks, Steph,” Morelli snorted angrily, turned and walked away.
The two police officers had herded Mary Lou, Connie and Lula over to Vince and Hector, who were escorting them back to the Rangeman vehicles. Cal and Ram had come out of the club to help the two officers break up the bar crowd in front of the fountain, and the rent-a-cop had retreated back to his cubbyhole, disappointed that no one was going to be arrested.
There was silence for a moment as people cleared out of the square, and then she turned to him, her expression unhappy. “And how long have you been here?” she spat out at him.
He gauged her mood and stayed where he was. “Since you walked out of the club.”
She tapped her foot, still angry. “Came to rescue me again, like Joe said?”
His reply was calm and his voice soft. “Came to offer you a ride home if you needed one.”
“Uh-huh. That's it?”
“Yes.”
“So you just stood there and ... what, watched us in the fountain?”
“Yes.”
She tilted her head back and put her hands on her hips and he raised an eyebrow as the wet material of her dress clung to her body even more. “And you didn't try to stop us, like Joe would have.”
He didn't answer.
“Even though you knew someone would eventually call the police.”
“That wasn't a certainty,” he said with a shrug. Not a certainty, but extremely likely.
Her eyes narrowed. "You knew that if the police came, someone would call Joe about me and he'd show up," she accused.
"It was possible," he agreed.
She blinked up at him. "You set this up. I know you did. But why?"
He raised an eyebrow. "Did I order all of those drinks for you? Did I tell you to splash around in the fountain? No, Babe, you did this all yourself. Looked like you were enjoying it."
"I did. I was." She squinted up at him, sounding a little uncertain. "But... nothing's ever a surprise to you. You knew -- me and alcohol, a hot night and a fountain? You knew what would happen."
"Could be," he said in agreement. He opened the door of his car and pulled a towel out of a bag on the back seat and held it out for her. "Ride home?"
"Answer the question," she said, her tone firm. "You knew this would happen, and you knew Joe would find out and throw a fit over it. So, why?"
He smiled slightly. "To prove that Morelli doesn't understand the real you at all."
She took the towel from him, letting his words sink in as she wiped the water off of her face and hair, and then patted her clothes dry. He made no effort to hide the way he appreciatively watched her body, and she watched him watch her. “The real me? And who is the real me?”
“The woman who wants to live her own life and fly free. The woman who can fly, when she lets go of the things that hold her back.”
She snorted and her lips turned down in a bitter frown. “I haven't done a lot of flying lately, Ranger. Just stumbling around in the dark, mostly, running into things that hurt.”
“Stop doubting yourself, Steph. Stop listening to other people doubt you.”
“Hi, I'm Stephanie Plum, have we met?” She rolled her eyes at him. It always both amused and annoyed him when she directed eye rolls at him.
The corners of his lips turned up. “Many times, Babe.”
“Huh,” she said slowly. "So you let this all happen,” she waved her arms around to point out the fountain, the bar, the parking lot, her wet dress and hair, “to prove that Joe doesn't understand what I really want and you do." It wasn't a question. “You think you understand me better than he does.”
He nodded.
She folded her arms and scowled up at him. "Then what am I going to say next?"
" 'Yes.' "
She stared at him for several long seconds. "Could be," she said with a smile as she ducked her head and slid into the seat of his car, her wet clothes still dripping on the leather upholstery. He closed her door and went around to the driver's side, sliding in.
He started the car and the glow of the dash lights lit their faces. The smell of chlorine from the fountain water permeated the cabin.
She turned to look at him. “You really think I can fly?”
“I know you can.”
“Huh.”
“Home?” he asked.
“Home,” she agreed, settling in to the soft leather seat. She put her hand on his thigh as the late night city lights flashed by them and the Porsche engine growled. It felt a little like flying.