Chapter 1
On a normal day, I dress for work in a girlie t-shirt and jeans. I accessorize with CAT boots and a bag big enough to hold my cuffs, pepper spray and on the rare occasion it leaves my cookie jar, a Smith and Wesson snub nosed .38. My hair care regime consists of trying to tame my out of control curls in a ponytail and make-up involves multiple coats of mascara and some lip gloss. A normal work day might involve a greased up, naked man, rolling in garbage or a burning car. Some days might involve all three.
My name is Stephanie Plum, and I am a fugitive apprehension agent in Trenton, New Jersey. When someone is arrested and doesn't want to hang out in a jail cell until their case goes to trial, my cousin Vinnie posts a bond to cover the bail set by the court. When the accused returns for their trial, Vinnie gets his bond money back from the court. If the accused fails to appear, the court keeps Vinnie's money. My job is to bring those wayward souls back into the judicial system when they fail to appear in court at their appointed time. Convincing someone to accompany me to the police station can be challenging, since most people really don't forget their court date. This reluctance to return to the system is what leads to the garbage and burning cars.
I also moonlight for Rangeman Security when I'm short on cash or when the owner of Rangeman needs me to use my feminine wiles to distract an FTA so they can be apprehended more safely.
Today is not a normal work day. Today I'm working for Rangeman in New York City and I've traded in my t-shirt and jeans for a designer gown of deep blue silk. The draped, halter style bodice accentuated my 36B bust without being overtly sexual. That privilege was saved for the back of the dress. Or rather, the lack of a back to the dress. Miles of bare skin ended at the skirt that started millimeters above the top of my butt crack, making it incredibly obvious that I was wearing nothing under the gown. My CAT boots have been replaced by a pair of Manolo Blanik strappy heels. All told, my outfit cost more than my last two cars combined.
Such a magnificent outfit must have more than a ponytail and lip gloss, so I had spent the day being pampered and fussed over by trained professionals. The magicians at the upscale salon on 5th Avenue had tamed my frizzy brown hair into auburn waves that cascaded down around my shoulders and applied my make-up in a way that was understated but would draw attention to my blue eyes and made my mouth look like it was begging to be kissed. I kept telling myself the sapphire and diamond chandelier earrings and matching bracelet had to be fakes, but I couldn't be sure.
I took one last look in the mirror to make sure the wire taped under my breast was not noticeable through the clinging silk and then made my way out of my bedroom and into the sitting room of the suite we had taken at the Plaza Hotel.
As I walked in, five sets of eyes fell on me and all conversation stopped. I gave a little smile and a finger wave, wondering what was going on. Tank was the first to speak. "You clean up nice, Steph."
This made me laugh and seemed to snap the rest of the team out of their stupor. I did a little model twirl and heard someone mutter "Damn" before Tank brought the attention back to what he had been saying when I walked in.
"Okay, listen up. Steph, your wire is transmit only, so everyone will be able to hear what you're saying, but you won't be able to hear us. Lester and Vince will be working as waiters and will be circulating close by. Bobby will be a guest and will be there if you need an extraction. If it starts to feel hinky, give him a signal and Bobby will come over and ask you to dance. That will be your escape route. I want you to lure this guy out into the lobby and over near the elevator bank. Hal and I will be waiting at the elevators to take him into custody and escort him out of the hotel and to the police station. Once we grab him, you can head back up to the room."
"Remember, this guy is dangerous. He's accused of kidnapping and rape. We believe he used GHB to drug several women and then 'helped' them when they fell ill. Be sure not to drink anything he offers you. Any questions?"
I shook my head and picked up the folder with the information on the FTA. Marcel Chagall was rich, handsome and, by all accounts, quite charming. His family owned an international chain of hotels and he and his twin sister were busy playing at being among the spoiled rich.
His picture showed a strikingly handsome man with dark blonde hair and ice blue eyes. The chiseled cheekbones and strong jaw were softened by a lush, sensual mouth. If he were just trying to pick up a woman for consensual sex, I'm sure he would have no problem doing so.
According to the arrest report, Marcel was accused of drugging a woman and taking her to a seedy hotel room that had been set up as a filming location. The woman was then forced to perform sex acts with multiple partners while the entire assault was recorded. Once Marcel was done with her, the woman was dropped off near her home with no memory of what had been done to her. Marcel had been caught when he uploaded the video to a community porn site and the woman was recognized. It was believed that he had done this multiple times, but so far nothing could be proven.
Because of his wealth and international connections, bail had been set at 5 million dollars. Rangeman's standard fee was fifteen percent of the bond, and my cut was ten percent of the recovery fee. With three quarters of a million dollars at stake, investing three thousand dollars in a distraction outfit was chump change.
The $75,000 I would earn was going to enable me to finally make some long overdue changes in my life. I would be able to move into a nicer, more secure apartment and still have a good nest egg until I figured out what I wanted to do. I did okay as a bounty hunter, but it wasn't a long term career. I just wasn't sure what kind of long term career I might want, but the money would allow me time to explore some ideas.
I was still a little nervous about this job. This was the first time I had done a job for Rangeman without the boss man himself being there. Ricardo Carlos Manoso, aka Ranger, was the managing partner of Rangeman but he was also my mentor and friend. We have also been lovers on occasion, but Ranger's life doesn't lend itself to relationships and mine doesn't lend itself to casual sex, so we remain at an impasse. Ranger had left on a mission three months ago and left Tank in charge of Rangeman.
Whenever Ranger went into the wind, I watched the news to see if I could figure out where he might be. I watched for governments being overthrown or drug cartels being taken down but I could never be sure if it was him. His missions were classified, and if he told me he would have to kill me. I'm pretty sure he likes me alive, so I don't ask too many questions.
The intel we had on Marcel said he would be at the thousand dollar a plate charity dinner this evening in the ballroom of our hotel. His twin sister was a patron of the charity and also attending the gala. The plan was for me to make contact with him at the pre-dinner cocktail reception and have him cuffed and stuffed before dinner was announced.
Lester and Vince left early to make their way down to the kitchen and join the staff. A few minutes before we were scheduled to leave Bobby walked out of the other bedroom wearing what had to be a custom made tuxedo.
"Wow!" was all I could say. Bobby cleaned up pretty well, too.
The four of us rode down in the elevator together. When we got to the floor where the ballroom was located, Bobby and I stepped off the elevator and made our way towards the entrance. I handed the butler my ticket and made my way towards the bar. I saw Lester nod towards a group of men off to my left and slowly started making my way closer.
Marcel was holding a champagne flute in one hand and had his other hand tucked casually in his pocket. As I approached, I pretended to trip and fall into the side away from his drink. He dropped his glass in an effort to catch me while the others around him sprang back away from us.
"Oh my God, I am so sorry!" I gasped, still clinging to his arm. "Are you okay? Please, let me get you another drink."
With that, I let go of his arm and turned to give him a look at the back side of my dress. I grabbed two champagne flutes from Vince's tray and turned to hand one to Marcel.
"It's quite alright. And I don't mind having a beautiful woman fall into my arms." he said as I handed him the glass. I managed to suppress my shudder as he placed a hand on my bare lower back and guided me away from the mess on the floor that was already being attended to by the hotel staff.
Once we had moved off to the side I reached out my hand. "Please allow me to properly introduce myself. I'm Stace."
He took my proffered hand and raised it to his lips. "It is a pleasure to meet you Stace. I am Marcel, but please call me Marc."
"I apologize for so rudely interrupting your conversation earlier. I'm sure you want to get back to your friends." I said, taking a dainty sip of my champagne and looking up at him through my lashes.
"Not at all my dear, but I imagine someone must be wondering where you could be," he responded.
"Actually, I was supposed to be here with my soon to be ex-husband, but that was before I caught him getting a little too personal with his personal assistant. I hope he and Geoffrey are very happy together, but, I must admit, my ego took a bit of a thrashing from that little incident. I decided to give my self-esteem a boost by getting all dolled up and coming out on my own to see what kind of mischief I could get into."
He smiled at that and said, "Your soon to be ex-husband's loss is my gain then. I love getting into mischief with a beautiful woman."
He reached for my glass saying, "Let me freshen that for you. I'll be right back." and headed toward Lester as he was passing by with a tray of drinks.
Marc returned a moment later and handed me the fresh drink. He raised his glass to clink it with mine and said with an engaging grin "To mischief" before taking a small sip. I raised the glass to my lips and pretended to take a sip, remembering Tank's warning.
His eyes shifted from mine to look over my shoulder and his face broke into an even bigger grin. "I see my sister has arrived with her flavor of the month."
I turned to see a gorgeous blonde walking towards us. The front of her gold lame gown barely covered her considerable chest with a neckline that plunged down past her bejeweled belly button. As she moved towards us, one long, shapely leg appeared through the slit in her skirt that went all the way up to her hip bone. It was obvious she wasn't wearing anything under her dress, either.
She was so incredibly stunning it took me a moment to register the man accompanying her across the room. He was dressed in a custom made Armani tuxedo that hugged his body like a second skin. His black silken hair was pulled back at the nape of his neck and diamond studs twinkled in each ear. My blue eyes locked with his chocolate brown eyes and I muttered, "It appears this month's flavor is mocha latte."
I supposed I always assumed Ranger kept every woman at arm's length the way he did with me. I never thought about him being involved with someone else, but why would he be waiting for me while I was with Morelli. I also assumed that going in the wind meant going into the jungle or the desert like Rambo. Maybe it just meant he went into the city to be Bruce Wayne.
As these thoughts flashed through my mind, I felt like I had been sucker punched. I raised my glass and took a very unladylike gulp of my champagne then immediately realized what I had done. I knew the guys wouldn't let me be kidnapped, but if this takedown was to go as planned I had to act fast to get Marc out to the room in case he had drugged my drink.
The blonde woman let go of Ranger's arm and stepped forward to kiss her brother full on the lips. Ewww. Glancing back over her shoulder she said, "Rafe darling, be a doll and fetch us some champagne."
Without a word, Ranger walked to where Lester was standing with his tray of drinks. The blonde stared after him for a moment before turning back to me and saying "He isn't much of a talker, but the sex is amazing, so who cares. I'm Chantelle, by the way, and you are stunning."
Marc chuckled. "Stace, this not so subtle creature is my sister, Chantelle. Chan, this is Stace."
Since the blonde had called him Rafe, I assumed Ranger was undercover so I didn't acknowledge him when he returned with their drinks. Chantelle accepted the drink with a smile and turned to scan the room. I knew I needed to act fast to get Marc out of the room so I leaned into him, brushing my breast against his arm. "This champagne is going straight to my head. I think I need to step out and get some fresh air. Care to take a walk with me?"
I could feel Ranger's eyes on me but I was speaking too quietly for him to hear what I was saying. I trusted that he would not break his cover and let the events play out, even if he didn't know what was going on. He could see Bobby hovering a short distance behind Marc, and Les and Vince between us and both possible exits, so he would know they were there to protect me. For tonight, he was just another bystander and I knew that probably wasn't sitting well with him.
Marc said to his sister, "We're going to step out for a few moments. I'll see you later, darling." He graciously offered me his arm and we made our way back towards to lobby.
"I have a room here at the hotel. Would you mind if we went up there first so I could grab my wrap?" I asked, moving us toward the elevators. I could feel myself getting drowsy and now knew for sure I had been drugged.
I was leaning more heavily on his arm and Marc looked at me with a knowing smile. "Of course. I couldn't let a beautiful woman wander through the hotel unescorted."
Marc pressed the button for the elevator and the doors opened to reveal a massive man dressed in black with a murderous look on his face. Tank reached out and grabbed Marc by the front of his shirt and pulled him into the elevator. Hal came up from behind us and stepped into the elevator with Tank and Marc. As the doors closed, Bobby walked up behind me and put an arm around me as I started to collapse.
"Come on, Steph. We need to get you to the hospital and have your stomach pumped." I tried to walk out on my own but Bobby swept me up and carried me out through the lobby. As I was losing consciousness, I felt a familiar tingle on the back of my neck as then nothing.