RPOV

As I watch her sleep, I still can't believe she is here. Jack's Stephanie. My Stephanie. Well, I say she is mine because that is how I have viewed her for the past 4 years. I never thought I would have the opportunity to meet her much less have her in my bed in my apartment.

I need to get back in there to the guys, but she is so beautiful and peaceful when she sleeps. I need to keep her safe as I promised her brother I would. I need to also get a grip on my feelings. Feelings I thought were long gone but apparently not.

I will make sure I find her baby girl. That's the least I can do for her. But I hope I get to know her more and find out what if anything can come out of this with us. Wait! is there and us? I can't let my guard down and let the guys know how I feel about Stephanie. They would think I'm crazy. I will have to reflect on my feelings for her later after they have left, and I have time to think.

I shut the door to the bedroom and walked back into the living room to sit on the sofa. I grabbed the envelope and opened it. 2 ultrasound pictures fell out and a folder that had my name on it. The ultrasound pictures were apparently when Babe got pregnant with Morelli's child.

I can't say I blame her for not wanting a child by him. I put the pictures aside and opened the folder. What I saw made my blood boil and my stone face shut down. If Joe had been there, I would have killed him.

I dropped the folder on the coffee table and stood up to pace. The guys noticed I was not happy about what was in the file. Tank picked it up.

"SHIT! How did Morelli get this? It's supposed to be sealed and classified. It's not anything though that you can get arrested for, so he lied to Little Girl about that. He was probably using this to force her to do things." Shaking his head not believing what he was seeing.

"I don't know but I want to find out. Hector needs to hack into Joe's computer at home and the PD to see if he has this information stored on anything if it is it needs to be erased." I called Hector immediately, to relay what I just told Tank and Lester. He said he would get back to me with information asap.

"Tank, call and talk to your handler, right now I don't trust mine and see if he can find out if there is something going on with my handler. Lester, I need your ears to the ground and call around to see if you can find something. Start at 0800 and we will meet in my office at 1200 to go over what we have. DISMISSED."

Now that the guys have left, I can sit here and think about Stephanie. I can't believe she is here. When Jack first told us the stories about his kid sister, I thought he was joking. I didn't think there was any way he would have a 20-year-old sister that was a bounty hunter.

Jack told us about how she loved what she did, and she was saving for a Porsche because she had always wanted one. Wonder how she would react if she knew I had 3 of them? Maybe I'll let her drive one. I'll have to ask her if she ever got her Porsche or what happened to her getting one.

Jack told us stories on our missions, I realized I looked forward to them. I became enthralled by Stephanie and the life that she was leading. When she said she was raped by someone on the team I wonder who it was? She said Abby's father was of Spanish descent. There were 2 guys that had the coloring of Spanish descent 3 if you count me, and I know it wasn't me.

If Stephanie had been with me and gotten pregnant, I would have married her in a heartbeat. I don't need to rape a woman to have one in my bed. I plan on finding out who raped her and making him pay. I will have to investigate that more.

Every mission we had brought on new stories and the more he told us about Stephanie the more I fell in love with her. I know hard to believe myself as a mercenary, bounty hunter, businessman, and one that doesn't show my feelings or emotions fell in love. But I did. I have been in love with this woman for years. There was just something about her that in my eyes made her perfect.

I have tried to be with other women, but it does no good. Jack gave me a picture of Stephanie one time and I have had it in my wallet ever since. She was younger in the picture than she is now. The picture is over 5 years old, that's probably why I didn't recognize her. In the picture, her hair was shorter, and her face was different. She has aged some so that has a lot to do with why I didn't notice who she was. Sometimes when I need to feel at peace, I pull it out and look at it.

Now that she is here, I will be getting a newer updated picture to replace the one I have. I will try everything I can to get her to stay here with me on 7. It's funny because I've never brought a woman up to 7 before. The only woman that has ever come to my apartment is Ella and that's because she cleans and cooks for me, my own family, my mother, and sisters haven't been up here.

No other woman has graced this area. I value my privacy and I always thought that having a woman up here would intrude on that privacy. With Stephanie here, it doesn't feel like an intrusion it feels right. Like she is supposed to be here. Almost like I've found my home and my place in life.

These nightmares and the fact that she only gets 2 or 3 hours of sleep a night are not good. She can't be sedated every time so I will see if there is another way that she can sleep soundly and not have nightmares. I need to know how long she has been having these nightmares too.

I'm not going to lie, I love her. I have never admitted that to anyone and if someone asked me right now, I would deny it. I am glad her brother told her about me and told her that I would help her. Because I always will no matter what.

I still can't believe what that asshole did to her and then he sold her baby. What man does that to a woman? When I see him, and I will see him, you can bet your ass on that, he will pay for everything that he has done to her. He will never hurt her again.

Then he raped her? I mean is Morelli so hard up for a woman that he must rape Stephanie. Heck, he is supposed to be the Italian Stallion. But apparently must resort to raping someone to get them to have sex with him.

I will have my day with him. He will not go unpunished for the things that he has done to her or has made her do. Since he likes locking her in a closet the size of a casket, I will make sure that he fits nicely in one. My mercenary days are over, but no one and I mean NO ONE hurts my woman, especially the woman that I love, and I have loved for years.

Six months ago, I would have said that my life doesn't lend itself to relationships, but now that my contract is up with the government and I don't have to leave for months on end, I can devote my time to a relationship. What better person to have a relationship with than with My Stephanie?

I'm already calling her My Stephanie. I do consider her my woman so that's the same thing. I will let every know that she is mine and they need to keep their hands off. The only person that knows about Stephanie is Tank, and that's because I had to explain to him about her after she discovered who I was. He was a little shocked but he seemed to be pleased that I finally have a woman in my life that I am interested in.

I can tell that Babe is very fragile and is going to need me to protect her. she is very scared of Joe, and I will make sure he doesn't touch her. I need to get to bed, but do I sleep next to her, or do I sleep here on the couch?

Dios, I need to be able to be with her. I need to touch her because it will bring me peace. I could watch her sleep, but I have to get up in about 4 hours anyway to go running so I might as well get some sleep now.

I walked into the bedroom and stood in the doorway. Dios, she is so beautiful. I quietly went to the bathroom and did what I needed to do. I couldn't sleep commando tonight, so I put on silk boxers and slid in the bed next to her.

She feels so good. I moved to where I could put my arm around her waist and pull her to me, so her back is to my front. She feels so right and so good in my arms.

She starts mumbling in her sleep. I whispered to her in Spanish to try to soothe her and get her to rest peacefully. I will do whatever I need to, to make her understand how important she is to me and to make her my wife. I know it will take time, probably months if not a year, but at some point, it will happen. Thinking about making her my wife makes me smile. A year ago, you couldn't have paid me to even think about getting married now, after seeing Stephanie and feeling the same feelings come to the surface again, she is all I want, and I don't want to lose her.

I never thought I would get married again after Rachel, but now I can't think of anything else. My life started here just now with my Babe…