Tricky Twenty-Two (Stephanie Plum 22)

“What’s the gun doing on the counter? It’s usually in the cookie jar.”

“I put it there so I’d remember to buy bullets.”

“Babe,” Ranger said.

I think he was amused.

I poured my coffee into a to-go mug, grabbed a frozen waffle, and rammed my feet into my big rubber boots. “I’m ready.”

“What about the gun?”

“Um, no bullets.”

“Take it.”

I dropped the gun into my messenger bag and followed Ranger to the parking lot. He was driving a black Ford Explorer that I knew was a Rangeman fleet car. He took Hamilton to Broad and stopped at the hardware store.

My first thought was that he was getting boots like mine, but it turned out the hardware store sold ammo. Who would have thought? He waited while I loaded my gun. He gave his head a slight shake when I dropped one of the rounds onto the

floor, but didn’t say anything. He marched me out of the store and back into the car.

Conversation was minimal for the rest of the ride. Ranger was in the zone. He drove into Blatzo’s neighborhood and parked one house down. We got out and Ranger strapped on a gun belt and shrugged into a Kevlar vest. He gave me a vest and a similar gun belt.

I looked down at the big black Glock that was secured to my thigh with Velcro straps. “I feel like Annie Oakley.”

“The Glock is just for looks. Don’t try to use it. You have a place on the belt for your S&W. Use the gun you’re most comfortable with.”

I shoved the S&W into the gun belt and grimaced. I wasn’t comfortable with any gun.

Ranger stood hands on hips and looked at me. “I’m completely enamored with you, and I have no idea why.”

“I’m cute?”

“Babe, there has to be more, but honestly I don’t know what it is.”

“One of life’s great mysteries,” I said.

He pulled me hard against him and kissed me. Our tongues touched and I got a first-class rush.

“I hope that’s your gun I feel pressing into my stomach,” I said.

“My gun is on the side of my leg.”

“Oh boy.”

“You’re feeling my flashlight.”

“Sure,” I said. “I knew that. That was my second guess.”

He stepped away. “Watch for the snakes when we go to the door.”

“I’m prepared.”

He looked down at my boots. “Are those your snake boots?”

“I bought them special for this.”

He grinned at me. “And I thought you didn’t know what you were doing. How did this go down last time?”