She grabbed her purse, she was so late, she'd given June a bath, and needed to get to the school. She really didn't expect to have a job when she got there, but she needed to go through the motions.

"Where are you going?" He snarled at her from the hallway.

"I've got a meeting with my principal this morning, I'd kinda like to keep my job."

"Sit down, we need to renegotiate." She glared at him. She thought they'd settled this last night.

"I don't have time." He walked into the room and she glared at him. She had a bad feeling about this.

"I bought your contract out, you have all the time in the world."

She stared at him. Blinking several times until what he said sank in. "You did what?" She said softly.

"If you go back there, you'll be a suspect in the death, if it happens after you left, they might look at you, but not as closely, especially if you are out of the country when it is discovered."

She couldn't doubt his logic. Wait, out of the country?

"So what the hell am I supposed to do? I need that job."

"Actually, this is where we renegotiate." He sat down on the couch. She had to admit, in a button down grey shirt and slacks, without the bags under his eyes, he had a certain charm. But she wasn't going to let that disarm her.

"What's to negotiate, you lowered the price if I'd help you with June last night."

"Well, I'm thinking about doing it pro bono, but only if you agree to take care of June full time."

"What?"

"I'm offering you a job, there's a room off the cub's room for you to live in, all you'd have to do is take care of her." He stretched his arms along the back of the couch. She dropped into the chair next to where her purse had been sitting.

"I have a place, I don't want to lose my lease..."

"Taken care of, paid off your lease, and put your things in storage." He was grinning now. She wanted to smack the smug look off his face.

"You don't know anything about..."

"Born October 15th, thirty years ago, although you like to try to pass with twenty eight. Never married, no kids. Graduated University of Oklahoma School of Education, with a specialization in American History. Graduated Temple High School. Your parents owned a family farm, you have six siblings but your parents left you the whole thing. That has caused you some legal issues as they try to break the will. You got an influx of money two years ago when your fiancé died in a car accident, and more legal problems due to his mother trying to get her hands on the life insurance. You lost a baby in the crash, eight and a half months along. Somehow you came out of that accident with minor injuries."

"You call having your baby born at eight and a half months and stillborn a minor injury?" She could feel her blood starting to boil.

"That was the cub, not you, you had a couple sore muscles, but no cuts even with all the glass." This time the grin wasn't smug, but predatory. "Basically you have two choices, pay me for the job, or take my offer. There's no backing out now."

"Take care of June? Why? Why me? You said you didn't want a nanny."

"The cub likes you, she's quiet when you're here, you know the cub shit, and I don't. She needs a frail, your here, and, frankly, under my thumb."

That finally set her temper off. She was sick of cub this and it that.

"She's your daughter, if, and its a big if, I do this, you will stop the cub and it and anything else that would make her feel like an animal. She is a beautiful baby, and you treat her like an object, not a person. You will learn to talk to your child, and you will act like a parent..." She stopped with his hand around her throat and her feet a foot off the floor, and cracked sheet rock behind her head where he slammed it against the wall. He'd moved so fast she'd not even seen him.

"You have no room for negotiation here, Karen." He hissed, the loud scream from the baby's room belied his statement. He dropped her, and she rubbed her throat, she felt dampness on her fingers, but no cuts on her neck.

"Funny that, blood but not a scratch on you, and I deliberately used my claws." He almost purred in satisfaction.

"I'm not doing it. I'll have your first half here this afternoon." She wasn't going to allow anyone to manhandle her like that.

"You don't understand, I've changed my mind, the only option you have is June. June or me." This time the grin was predatory and sexy. She tried to push past him, to go check on June but he wouldn't move. She glared up at him.

"Fine, now let me go take care of her." She said with a growl he'd be proud of. He laughed, but kept her pinned against the wall. He reached up, one claw tracing the outline of her breast through her blouse, and she cringed.

"June it is then." He didn't look disappointed, and she rushed away from him as soon as he moved enough for her to escape. She didn't fool herself. He let her. Somehow she knew it wasn't her he was interested in. The whole thing at the wall was just too forced, planned, well executed, but planned.

June was not in a rage, or severe pain, her hands weren't clenched she was just crying for attention. Karen quickly found what the problem was, she could smell it halfway across the room.

"Someone's stinky." She said calmly. Just because he father was a total asshole didn't mean she should take it out on June. She heard him in the doorway behind her, and started issuing instructions.

"Yes, lets get that nasty thing off." She said quietly in an even tone to June. Over her shoulder she said to the man behind her. "If you talk to her in even tones, without raising your voice, or using any of your animalistic grunts and growls, she won't be upset. Babies understand tone of voice, not the words you are saying." Her tone never changed, and she heard him grunt behind her.

"Babies are startled by loud and unexpected noises, that's probably part of the reason she's been cranky. You have to be soothing around them." She unfastened the disposable diaper, and quickly cleaned her up. She applied a diaper rash ointment, and slipped a clean diaper under her backside. "Babies should only cry if there is a problem, of course we can't always see what they think is a problem. Diaper changes, hunger, sleep, those are somewhat obvious, loud noises, something startling them, a tummy ache from gas, colic, teething, those are less obvious. Then there's the completely out of the ordinary, like twisted clothing, scratches because their nails are too long or sharp, or wanting a change of scenery to stimulate their senses and help with the learning process."

"I really don't care about that shit." He said, but softly from the doorway.

"You should. I can see, when she's quiet and happy, you have a great deal of pride in her. her wellbeing should be the most important thing." She felt him move behind her, his feet were silent on the carpeting. "And she's smiling." She felt a surge of satisfaction. It was petty, but she couldn't help it. She'd made June smile.

June started cooing and raising her fists, and Karen picked her up. "She's a good girl, just wanted those stinky pants off. Lets see if Daddy has anything different to put you in today." She opened the drawers in the changing table, but no luck, just more of the same onesies, even the same color. She was going to have to do something about that too.

"What are you looking for?" He said from right behind her. She was proud she didn't jump.

"Something other than the same damned onesie to put her in."

"Does she need it?"

"Do you need to change clothes, and not wear the same thing all the time?" She snapped, causing June to start, but she didn't start screaming.

"Whatever." Something thin and plastic landed on the table next to June. "No more than two grand, I've spent enough on the cu...on June in the last couple of months."

"What?"

"If you think she needs a change of clothes, then go get her a fucking change of clothes." He bit back the snarl, she could almost feel it.

"I'll need to go back to...shit." She hissed the last part. "You packed my apartment up didn't you?"

"Yep." He was so damned smug, if she wasn't holding the baby she'd slap him.

"Well then, you're just going to have to give me an advance on my so far nonexistent salary so I can pick up a few things."

"That's the household account, just make sure you bring back the receipts."

"What's my spending limit?" This time she turned and glared at him.

"No limit, and don't go below 5th Avenue and don't come back with frumpy shit or I'll throw it out." She saw that smug grin again, and knew he thought he'd won a battle with her, she'd show him.

"You said out of the country earlier? What did you mean?"

"I've got a job in Cairo at the end of next week. You'll need a passport, so when the attorney gets here with the paperwork, just sign it."

"What attorney and what paperwork?" She sat in the rocker, and settled June on her lap sitting up.

"The attorney that will have your job contract for five years to take care of June, plus some medical disclaimers, a property waiver, expedited passport application, and some papers I need for my cover for next week." He glared at her, and she lowered her head to play with June. He could be a smug bastard, but she was in a corner, not quite the corner she was used to, either. There'd be no way to drown him out in a bottle, she couldn't afford to do that this time, not with a baby to take care of.

"And one more thing, anytime you're out, or if anyone asks why you're buying clothes, you tell them its for our honeymoon."

"What?"

"One of the documents is a marriage license...It will keep the cops off your back about the dealer, and give me the cover I need to take care of my Egyptian job. I'll drop you and...June..." she could see the effort to use her name and wondered exactly why he seemed to hate anything that didn't objectify the child. "off in one of my houses, either in Athens or Cairo."

"Are you crazy. Neither place is good to take a baby traveling right now." She said.

"Fine where do you want me to drop you off, and I'd better have a fucking house there or its a no."

"Venice?"

"I can do Venice, Palazzo Barbaro, to be exact, right on the Grand Canal."

She just gulped and nodded. Well if she was going to be in Venice, no better place than that.

"So I'm supposed to tell people we're married?" She said.

"Engaged for now, the wedding will be a quiet affair next week in a Judge's chambers. Attendance is not required." He growled low. She was surprised when June actually tried to growl back, which caused his growl to break into a real laugh.

"Damn straight she's my cub." He grinned. She had to grin back. She'd never had any doubt.