Connie POV

It may sound cliché, but the first time that I met Lupo, I had a sense that my life was about to change.

For the better.

Before, I was all about the job.

And maybe that was because of previous bad experiences, I don't know.

For some reason, before now, I'd always managed to attract the wrong kind of guy.

In college, I'd been the victim of date rape. And that was back when it hadn't really been called that as much as just frat boys being frat boys.

I'd reported it to the campus security, but the general consensus had been that I just needed to get over it and get with the program.

That had been a traumatic experience to say the least.

Yet I couldn't wish that it had never happened because it caused me to change my priorities.

I began to study more and I got interested in the law.

So ultimately, the result was that I'd become an attorney.

My first year out of law school, I met a guy.

Another lawyer.

I'd thought that I was in love with him and so after a month of dating, I agreed to move in with him.

But it didn't last.

And why not?

Because three months into the relationship his true colors came through.

He'd come home after losing a case in an embarrassing fashion.

And did he unwind like a normal person? Did he fix a drink, or want to talk about what had happened, or find some other equally common method of shaking the disappointment of his day?

No.

He'd hit me.

Without preamble, without provocation, and without warning.

I could remember it like it was yesterday.

I'd been standing in the kitchen, opening a bottle of white wine.

See, I'd won my case. And I was feeling pretty good.

But he'd walked in and taken one look at me and then crossed the room and caught me with an uppercut to the jaw.

I'm ashamed to say that I went down to the floor on the first hit, taking with me the bottle of wine that I'd been holding.

Wine went everywhere, although oddly the bottle itself didn't break.

I could clearly remember pondering the sturdiness of the glass as I was lying on the floor in pain and stunned silence.

And he hadn't stopped there.

"Get up!" he'd yelled as he kicked me in the side. "Get the fuck up!"

He'd grabbed onto my arm and jerked me to my feet.

But my daddy didn't raise me to be a pushover.

I'd stood up, with the bottle still in my hand, and before he could hit me again, I'd swung it with everything I had.

The bottle caught him in the temple and knocked him out cold, which was convenient for me because it gave me time to pack up my belongings and get out of the apartment.

I'd spent the next week at my brother's in Miami.

I'd told him that a defendant had gotten loose in the courthouse and had hit me.

I also told him that maybe I needed a little break from the law, so he'd helped me get a job at the school where he worked and I moved into an available apartment in his building.

I lived in Miami and taught kindergarten for an entire school year.

It was so far from what had previously been my life that it felt completely surreal.

But then it was time for me to face reality.

I was being a coward. I was hiding out.

So, I'd gathered my courage, said goodbye to my brother, and moved back to New York.

I found an apartment, and got a job, and I never looked back.

But I also never really dated.

I mean, I went on dates.

Safe dates.

But I'd vowed that I would never again live with anyone.

And never again would I allow myself to fall in love.

Until now.

Something about Lupo had made me throw caution to the wind.

I'd certainly done it that first night.

It had taken him several weeks to work up the nerve to ask me out and when he finally did, I'd accepted. I was interested in getting to know him better.

But then he'd knocked on my door and he'd looked so…cute and sexy and sweet and I…I couldn't help myself. I hadn't had sex with anyone in a long time, mostly because I didn't trust my own judgment, but I felt like I could trust him.

So as he'd stood shyly in my doorway, ostensibly waiting for me to get my coat, I'd been picturing what it would be like to make love to him.

The image was so clear and…well, arousing that I hadn't been able to control myself.

I'd dropped my coat and put my arms around him and kissed him.

Without a doubt, I'd caught him off guard.

But he recovered quickly and it wasn't long before my mental picture became a reality.

Only it was much better in real life than in my head.

I'd been slightly nervous that our backwards start to a relationship would spell trouble, but it didn't.

I'd also been apprehensive that I was getting in over my head.

I was laying it all on the line, again, for a man.

I was just asking to get hurt.

But somehow I knew that Lupo wouldn't hurt me.

And despite the fact that he has a temper, I also knew that he would never raise a hand to me.

We've been together for six months and we've certainly had some knock-down drag-out fights.

He could be ornery and obstinate and moody.

And I could be overbearing and bossy and…well…moody, too.

So there were definitely times when we clashed.

But never once have I ever been afraid of him.

And always, every time, he's admitted fault when it was his for the taking.

He was a proud man but he didn't let it get in the way of what was right.

And another interesting realization.

I've never, ever thought that I was the marrying kind.

At least, not since that incident at college. Since then, I'd been focused on being a career woman.

My job was important to me.

But Lupo gets that, and he respects it.

And suddenly for some reason, I've been thinking a lot about marriage.

But then this thing with Alex's sister happened, and it stirred up a pot full of memories for me.

I didn't know Cathy, but I liked Alex and I loathed the idea that any man thought that it was okay to hit a woman.

So I'd bent the rules a bit. I'd hoped that maybe if we held onto the guy in lock-up for awhile, then maybe Cathy would agree to follow through.

But she didn't. And then, of course, he'd hit her again.

As upset as I was by the additional assault, I was thrilled when Alex told me that Cathy was prepared to press charges. And she wanted a restraining order.

I fast-tracked both requests and had them ready for Cathy's signature when Alex brought her by the courthouse.

I'd given Cathy a casual once-over as she was reading over the documents.

"He went for the body this time. Dr. Rodgers took pictures," Alex told me quietly.

Not much gets by her. She'd known exactly what I was thinking.

"I'll get them from her, but I'll just keep them in the file," I told her.

I wouldn't use them unless I had to. I didn't want to make Cathy feel like any more of a victim than she already did.

After they left, I called Lupo to give him the news. I wasn't sure how Ross would feel about his MCS detectives making an arrest for domestic abuse, but I had a feeling that he'd look the other way.

My day was crazy, so I didn't get to hear details on how the arrest went down. I hoped that there was some bloodshed involved on Travis' part.

And yeah, maybe I was reliving my past a little bit. Maybe I felt shame for never having filed charges against my own abusive boyfriend. Because by just leaving, I'd left him wide open to do it again to the next woman who entered his life.

When I finally got a break late in the day, I was able to do a little research and get confirmation of my suspicion.

I found an old restraining order that had been taken out by Barry Brubaker against Sheri Sexton in September of 2007.

I got a copy of the TRO, complete with supporting documentation, and called Lupo.

"How much do you love me?" I asked him when he answered. I was still at my desk, so I kept my voice low to keep from being overheard.

"You have to ask?"

"No," I replied immediately.

Because I didn't.

Ever since that night at Steve-O's when he'd trumped me by saying the L-word first, he'd been pretty vocal about his feelings.

"But however much, it's gonna be more," I added.

"Impossible. But tell me anyway."

So I told him what I had found and said that I'd email the details.

"I owe you," he told me.

"Yes you do," I replied, but I didn't really mean it. We didn't keep track of things like that.

We just did things for each other because we could and because we wanted to.

That night, I went home to an empty apartment.

Well, not completely empty. Otto was there.

I hadn't really expected Lupo to be at home since I knew that he'd be chasing down the lead I'd given him.

So I changed into comfortable clothes and took Otto for a walk.

The dog was Lupo's, but he'd quickly defected and become a mama's boy.

And I never thought I'd be one of those people who referred to herself as mama to a dog, but I was.

"Find a spot, Otto. Mama's cold," I told him as we stood in the small patch of grass near the apartment.

We'd done two laps around the block, but I was still waiting for him to do what he had to do.

"Mama should've worn a coat."

I turned around quickly, amazed that Lupo had been able to sneak up behind me.

"You're home," I said, unable to keep the smile from my face. "Does that mean the TRO was a dead end?"

"No," he said as he slipped out of his heavy leather jacket and wrapped it around my shoulders. "It means it opened up too many doors for us to justify staying late tonight. It'll still be there in the morning."

"That's good, huh?"

"That's very good. Did you know that Matt Harker used to work in MCS?"

"The guy from the report?" I asked. "No. I don't remember him."

"I replaced him," he told me. Otto had finally taken care of business, so we headed inside the building and over to the elevator.

"And he's involved?"

"We're not sure. I don't know why he would be, but I find it odd that a guy he helped during a stalking situation in DC has suddenly turned up dead in New York now that Harker is also in New York. Know what I mean?"

"Yeah," I said thoughtfully. We got off the elevator and went into the apartment. "So you guys are going to talk to him?"

"Uh huh. We called him tonight, but just got voice mail, so we'll try again in the morning."

"Where is he now?"

"OCCB. According to Bernard, Ross benched him after only a week or so. Something about the guy having a direct line to the big man."

"He's a brass pet?" I asked in amusement.

I got a couple of beers out of the fridge and handed one to Lupo.

I'd never explained to him why I can't drink white wine.

He asked me once. He said that he'd expected a girl like me to be a wine kind of girl.

I'd played it off and made some kind of joke about it instead of telling him the real reason.

Maybe I'd have to tell him about that some time soon.

"I think he wanted to be. But the banishment from MCS may have stalled him out. Ross is the one who's in good with the commissioner now."

"Your interview should be interesting then."

I took a drink of my beer, but as I pulled it away from my lips, Lupo took it from my hand. He set both of our bottles on the counter and then pulled me into his arms.

"Thanks for your help today," he said quietly.

"You're very welcome."

We stood in a silent embrace for several long minutes. I wondered what was running through his mind.

Sometimes, I think he saw things during the course of his job that made him want to hold onto me a little tighter. I liked knowing that I was a source of comfort for him. He was definitely one for me as well because sometimes I had those days, too.

He inhaled deeply, his face in the crook of my neck.

"Are you happy?" he asked, his voice soft and rumbling.

"You mean with us?"

"Yeah."

His uncertainty nearly broke my heart.

"I'm very happy," I assured him. "Happier than I've ever been."

"Good," he replied, breathing out a sigh of relief. "Me, too."

The next day, Saturday, we both got up and got ready for work. When he was in the middle of a case, he tended to put in a lot of hours, and so I took advantage of that time to get extra work done, too.

"Dinner tonight?" he asked me as we stood on the sidewalk and prepared to part ways.

"Sure," I agreed. "Do you want to invite anyone else?"

"No. Just us," he answered. He gave me a smile, that cute almost little boy smile of his that always made my heart jump, and then he kissed me goodbye.

"I'll call you later," he promised.

I worked throughout the morning, getting a jump start on a brief that I knew Mike was going to ask me to handle on Monday.

At noon, I got a call from Alex.

"How is Cathy doing?" I asked her when I answered.

"Oh, um…she's fine. This is about something else."

"Okay. What can I do for you?"

"Mike and Carolyn are in jail in Chevy Chase."

"Maryland?" I asked in surprise. "For what?"

"Can I explain it on the way?" she asked hesitantly. "We were kind of hoping you'd ride down there with us. Mike called asking about bail money, but I think it's going to be a little more complicated than that."

"I'm at the office," I told her.

"I'll be there in ten minutes."

By the time I shut down my computer and went down to the lobby and out the front door, Alex and Bobby were there waiting for me.

"Give it to me," I said as I buckled myself into the backseat.

"I'm not sure how much you know," Bobby said. "But Carolyn has been trying to track down A.J. Hemmings."

"The reporter who published that crap article," I supplied.

"Right," he said with a wry grin. "Carolyn got a lead that she was in an apartment in Chevy Chase, so she and Mike went down this morning to check it out. When they got there, the apartment across the hall was being robbed."

"What? Across the hall?"

"Yeah, I know. It sounds like something that would happen to us," Alex said.

"Anyway," Bobby continued. "They entered that apartment with their guns drawn in an effort to stop the robbery. Those two guys had guns, and it turned into a shootout."

"Are Mike and Carolyn okay?"

"They're fine. The other guys are both dead."

"Did they explain their story to the police?"

"Yeah," Alex answered. "But they handcuffed them anyway and took them in for processing. Maryland doesn't have reciprocity for the CCW, so they're both being charged with possession of a firearm, discharging the firearm, use of a firearm in the commission of a felony, and of course, murder."

"Murder? They're charging them with murder?"

"See why we called you?"

TBC...