Let me know what you think!

'Stephanie.' Joe said, he sounded agonised.

Good.

I paused – long enough to make it clear I'd heard him – then I walked away.

Chapter 3

I drove on autopilot, but I wasn't really that surprised when I reached my destination. I knocked on the door twice and Lenny answered.

Sometimes Lenny isn't the sharpest tool in the shed, but he took one look at my face and yelled for Mary Lou.

'Steph? Come in, what's the matter?' Mare asked.

I hadn't told anyone about Joe's indiscretion yet – all the Burg knew was that I'd been seen going into Joe's house and then leaving half a minute later. This hadn't exactly been priority gossip, as I'd been coming and going from Joe's house quite regularly a few weeks ago.

'Did you hear that I went to Joe's yesterday?' Asking Mare this was superfluous really, she always heard the gossip about me, no matter how small; as my best friend it was her duty to listen to gossip - and then to refute it if need be.

Mare nodded.

Tears started falling and I had a huge lump in my throat. 'The dinning room table…' I cried, 'why is it always the dinning room table?'

'Oh, Steph.' She said. She wrapped her arms around me and held me while I bawled. In between bouts of tears I told her the whole story.

'Gilman?' she'd hissed, 'that skank!'

'She has perfect boobs…' I sobbed.

'I have it on good authority that they're fake.'

I half sobbed and half laughed, 'I love you Mare.' She always knows how to make me feel better.

'I love you too, which is why I'm going to phone Lula and Connie and then we're going to drink tequila slammers and eat Ben and Jerry's, and bitch about how we hate men.'

'I'll go get supplies while you phone, then I'll meet you back at my apartment. Ok?'

Mare nodded, already dialling.

At the Seven/Eleven I brought nachos, salt, lemons, two bottles of tequila and ten tubs of Ben and Jerry's. It wouldn't do to run out; and this was a two-tub day if ever there was one.

I expected the girls to be waiting in the hall when I got back, but they weren't so I shrugged and let myself in.

The girls were inside. 'How did you get in?' I asked.

'I picked the lock.' Connie said.

'Mob girl's been holding out on us.' Said Lula.

Connie shrugged, 'it never came up.'

'Mare told you?' I asked.

'Yeah.' Lula said, 'we been trying to think of a new name for him; no way I'm calling him Supercop now.'

I smiled, 'how bout 'scum-sucking two-timing skank-fucking lying-asshole?'

'Maybe,' Lula said, 'but I'm thinking that be a lot of breath to be wasted on that sorry sonsabitch.'

I love my friends.

And three hours later, I really loved my friends.

Three hours later, we were tanked on tequila and we were singing, 'Oh tequila, it makes me happy…'

'What I hate about men,' I said, 'is that you never know where you stand with them, you know? One minute they're all 'let's get married', and the next they're fucking skanks on dinning room tables. I hate dinning room tables.' I looked around, but I didn't have a dinning room table, so I settled for the coffee table instead. I stomped on it really hard, but it didn't break.

'Lula,' I said, 'help me smash the stupid dining room table.'

'It's a coffee table.'

'Yeah, but I'm projecting my anger at dining room tables onto my coffee table.'

'Works for me.' She said.

We both stomped on the table, it broke and I did a happy dance. Then I picked up the halves and broke them some more. Then I picked up the pieces of table and shoved them out into the hall.

'I feel better now.' I said.

'Good,' said Connie, 'time for another slammer.'

'What I hate about men is the way they use, you know?' Lula bitched.

We all nodded; Lula knew better than most about the way men could abuse you.

'Take this man I been seeing, one minute he's all 'Lula, you've changed me, I'm a better man.' And the next he's picking up his clothes and hightailing it out the door. Bastard.'

We nodded and took another shot.

'What I hate about men is the way they interfere!' Connie said. 'So what if I am dating an assassin? Is that any of cousin Tony's business? No it isn't. But he goes and tells my beau to get out of town before he comes after him with cement boots. I mean, yeesh.'

'Yeesh.' We all repeated, but probably for different reasons to Connie.

We took another slammer.

'Mare!' I slurred, 'it's your turn to say what you hate about men!'

'What I hate about men is…the way they leave the toilet seat up! I mean, how hard is it to put it down, really?'

We all stared at Mare; her hate thing wasn't quite in the same league as ours somehow.

'What?' she asked, 'it bugs me.'

We shrugged and downed another shot.

'Babe.' Ranger said.

What was he doing here? Last thing I remember was drinking tequila…lots of tequila.

I was lying face down on the living room floor. I pushed myself up and groaned as my head throbbed painfully; oh tequila you don't make me happy…you make me hungover like a dog.

I pried my eyes open and looked towards Ranger; he was flanked by Tank and Bobby.

'I brought enforcers.' He said.

'For what?'

'Running.'

'Not happening.'

'You drink all the tequila?' He asked, eying the two empty bottles.

'Me and Mare and Lula and Connie,' I whispered. 'Could you not talk so loud?'

'What's with the table?' he asked in a quieter voice, gesturing out to the hall.

I couldn't remember what he was talking about. I dragged myself out to look. I stared at the pieces of my coffee table.

I stumbled back into my apartment.

'It broke.' I said.

Ranger smiled.

'I see lots of empty ice cream tubs Babe.'

'I only ate two of them.'

Ranger's smile widened and he shook his head slightly, 'Babe, you have no self control.'

'Sure I do. Think of all the times I didn't jump your bones.'

Ranger flashed me a 200 watt grin and I blushed, 'I can't believe I just said that.' I muttered.

Lula groaned from behind the couch, 'stop talking, my head hurts.'

Boy, could I relate to that.

'What did Morelli do?' Ranger asked.

'Huh?'

'You had your girl friends over; you got very drunk and ate ice cream. What did he do?'

To tell or not to tell? Hmm. The truth is, I've just told three of the biggest gossips in town, I love them, but in a few hours time it'll be all over the Burg that Joe screwed the skank. Better Ranger hears it from me.

'I smell burning Babe.'

I stuck my tongue out at him, and then I sighed, 'you'll find out soon anyway. I walked in on Terri and Joe.'

Ranger's jaw tightened. 'Tell me they were talking.'

'Well, there might have been talking involved, but if there was it was probably along the lines of 'oh Joe' and 'faster'…that kind of thing.'

'You ok?'

'I'm very hung over.'

'Besides that.'

'Lets see; three weeks ago I got kidnapped and beaten, nearly died, but hey shit happens. I try to get over it, you know? But then my kinda boyfriend, who says he wants to marry me, is screwing the mob bimbo, and someone is stalking me and sending bits of people. Would you be ok?'

'No.'

'No, me either. And now I'm going to cry, and its not going to be pretty, and then my head's going to hurt even more.'

'Go get Steph a large coke and fries from McDonalds. And some ketchup.' Ranger said to his men, handing them money. They nodded and left.

Ranger lifted me up and carried me to the couch, then he sat down and settled me onto his lap like he had yesterday.

'Ok,' he said, 'you can cry now.'

I nodded into his neck. And then the floodgates opened.