Free 10 Ten Big Ones by Janet Evanovich

color. '

    I took the files from Lula and shuffled through them. No devil guy. Connie handed me the remaining four files. No devil guy there either. This left me with three possibilities. The devil guy didn't have a record. Or the devil guy used a different bond agent.

    Les Sebring, maybe. Or the devil guy gave an address outside of

    Slayerland.

    I saw Connie and Lula go still and fix their eyes on the door behind me. Either someone walked in with a gun in his hand or else Ranger was here. Since no one ducked for cover, I was betting it was Ranger.

    A warm hand settled at the base of my neck, and I felt Ranger lean into me. 'Babe, ' he said, softly, his right arm snaking around me to take the file from my hand. 'Eugene Brown, ' he read. 'You might not want to spend a lot of time with Eugene. He's not a fun guy'

    'I sort of bounced him off the hood of the Buick today, ' I told

    Ranger. 'But it wasn't my fault. '

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    'I don't suppose you know the identity of the devil guy who's robbing all the deli-marts?'

    'Don't suppose I do, ' Ranger said. 'But it's not Eugene. There'd be more bodies on the floor if it was Eugene. '

    Vinnie's inner office door opened, and Vinnie stuck his head out.

    'What's up?'

    'I'm going out of town for a couple weeks, ' Ranger said. 'Tank will be on the job, if you need him. ' Ranger dropped the Brown file on Connie's desk and turned to me. 'I want to talk to you... Outside. '

    It was late afternoon and the sky was overcast, but the autumn air was still warm in spite of the gloom. Ranger's customized black

    Ford F-150 FX4 was parked curbside. A black SUV with tinted windows was parked behind the truck. The SUV had its motor running.

    I followed Ranger out of the office, glancing first at the SUV and then at the heavy traffic on Hamilton. Rush hour in Trenton.

    'What if I need something?' I asked Ranger, doing a little flirting, feeling brave because I was on a public street. 'Should I call Tank?'

    He ran a fingertip along my hairline and tucked a stray curl behind my ear. 'It depends what you need. Did you have anything special in mind?'

    Our eyes held, and I felt the first licks of panic. I should know better than to play with Ranger. He never got rattled, and he never backed down. I, on the other hand, frequently got rattled with

    Ranger and almost always backed down.

    'How about if I need a car?' I asked, searching for something legitimate to change the tone. There'd been times past when I'd needed a car, and Ranger had provided one.

    Ranger pulled a set of keys from his pocket and dropped them into my hand. 'You can take my truck. I can get a ride back with

    Tank. '

    A narrow alley separated Vinnie's office from the neighboring business. Ranger nudged me into the shadow of the alley, pressed me against the brick wall, and kissed me. When his tongue touched mine my fingers curled into his shirt, and I think I might have momentarily lost consciousness.

    'Hey, ' I said, when consciousness returned. 'You're poaching. '

    'And?'

    'Stop it. '

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    He was right. A woman would have to be dead not to want to kiss Ranger. And I wasn't even close to dead.

    I gave the keys back to him. 'Nice gesture but I can't take the truck. '

    'Call Tank if you change your mind. And be careful. Don't try to play with Eugene. '

    And he was gone.

    Lula and Connie were shuffling papers, trying to look busy, when I returned to the office.

    'Is he gone?' Lula wanted to know.

    'Yeah. '

    'Lord, he makes me nervous. He is so hot. I got flashes. Look at me. I'm having a flash. I'm not even in menopause, and I'm hot flashing. '

    Connie rolled back in her chair. 'Did he tell you where he was going? How long he'd be away?'

    `No'

    Connie had a problem. When Ranger was gone she was left with me and a couple part-time BEAs. If a high-stakes bond went south, she'd be in a bind. The case would have to go to me. At least temporarily. I was okay at my job, but I wasn't