Chapter 16

Stephanie's POV

Marco and I moved into our house the day before Tim and Buck had to report for duty. They loved their suite in the basement of the house. We would build a wall to separate their apartment from the gym and the laundry room. Marco and I wanted to offer them as much privacy as they required. They'd be gone for nine months, but we'd ensure their unit remained dust free.

"Steph, I had an idea," Marco said as I unpacked my suitcases.

"What brilliant idea popped into your mind?" I asked.

"I know every form of martial arts, and I have certification to teach. Would you like to open a studio with me?" Marco seemed shy to ask for my opinion.

"It's a great idea, Marco. We could offer classes for women, children and other interested people. If we get a large enough space, we could offer yoga or Zumba," I replied. "We should look for a space. In the meantime, we can capture FTAs to build capital."

"I was playing with the idea. I'm not sure how to make it happen. We need a business plan and possibly investors."

"Then it's a good thing you know a business administration major," I joked. "I can prepare the business plan and forecast our profit based on standard models in the demographics of Trenton."

"You can do that?" Marco asked. I tried not to get offended because I knew he was joking. Marco knew I had a business degree. We had discussed how I could utilize my diploma. "Seriously, Steph. I want to do this. You and I together would be unstoppable."

"What are your plans for this weekend?" I asked.

"Not much. Why? Are you planning to escape Trenton?" Marco wondered.

"Okay, I give. You know," I replied as I rolled my eyes. "Did you overhear our conversation?"

"Yes. But I could feel your relationship with Tank had shifted. I hope you're inviting me," Marco said.

"I couldn't do this without you by my side. Does uncle Joe have enough seats in his plane for you, Lester, Hector, Tank and me?" Marco knew I referred to my godfather.

"If I take the copilot seat, we'll have the space," he replied, making me relax. I hoped he would offer to copilot the flight without having to ask. Marco smiled. "You wanted me to copilot."

"Yup. I feel bad that dad and grandma can't come," I said.

Marco pulled me into his arms. He held me for a few minutes before saying, "Hector can either send them a video or link them to a live feed." I looked into his eyes which were my colour, and I smiled. My brother is awesome. "And so is my younger sister." He released me so I could continue unpacking the suitcase. I had a smaller one to use for our trip. We were only staying for one night.

"I'll confirm the details with uncle Joe," I said when Marco left to pack.

"I've got it, Steph. He needs my credentials to copilot." I heard Marco go down the stairs.

After packing my bag, I called Lester. Tank said he had the weekend free, but I wanted to be sure. "Hello, Beautiful," Lester greeted when he answered the phone.

"Hey, Les," I replied. I didn't want to waste time telling him the purpose of the call. "Are you busy this weekend?"

"Nope. I've got a few days off before I report for monitor duty. Why? What's up?" he asked.

"I would like you to accompany me to Vegas, baby," I replied.

Lester laughed before saying, "I would love to visit Vegas with you. But if we elope, Tank will hand me my ass."

"The Big guy is coming with us, Les," I retorted. Lester told me to wait for a few minutes. It sounded like he was securing a room so we could talk.

"So, you and BG are eloping?" Lester asked, getting to the point.

"We are. I couldn't go without you," I replied.

"Momma is going to be thrilled. She's in Vegas with her girlfriends. If you don't mind, I think she'd like to be there too," Lester excitedly said. I couldn't deny him the opportunity to visit with his mom. Elena and I had fun shopping for curtains, linens and area carpets for my house.

"I would love to have her attend," I said. Lester and I talked for a few more minutes until he announced that he needed to call his mom. As I finished packing the bag, the doorbell rang.

I went downstairs to answer the door. Marco was in the shower, so he didn't hear the chime. When I checked the security panel, I saw Hector and another man smiling on the other side of the door. "Hola, Hector," I said, opening the door.

"Hola, Angelita," Hector replied. I assumed the attractive man holding Hector's hand was Emilio. Hector quickly introduced us. When I asked why he didn't use his key to enter the house, he explained it was rude to enter someone else's home with a guest. I could understand his point of view.

Emilio was a friendly man. I was surprised to see he behaved the same in person as he did over the phone. In my experience, the person on the phone was not the one you met face to face. I liked him for my hermano. Hector grinned. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Emilio," I said as I held out my hand.

"The pleasure is mine," he replied, shaking my hand. "Hector told me you were beautiful." Emilio was trying to butter me up. It was unnecessary.

"I hope you don't mind that Hector told me your story," I said. He could tell I understood how he felt.

"I'm sorry, Angelita," Emilio said. I laughed and told him to call me Steph or Stephanie. "Please, if you don't mind, I would like to call you Angelita like my Hector. He always refers to you as Angelita, so the name stuck in my mind."

"I don't mind, Emilio," I said. I was pleased to see my friend was happy. Emilio was a good person despite the treatment from his family. We visited for a bit longer. I told Hector about my plan this weekend; he was excited to come with us. Emilio had open houses on the weekend and had to work. I promised to send him the video.

Marco joined us after his shower. He fist-bumped Hector and shook Emilio's hand. I could tell Marco liked Emilio. We moved our conversation to the kitchen to cook dinner. Not having other plans, Emilio and Hector agreed to join us. Hector smiled when he watched Marco and me move around the other in the kitchen. "How do they know what the other one wants?" Emilio asked.

I looked over my shoulder at the man. "We have a strange twin connection. I can anticipate what he wants before he can ask," I said.

"Oh. That's handy," Emilio replied.

Thinking about my earlier conversation with Marco, I asked, "Do you only sell residential, or do you also manage commercial properties?" Marco raised his eyebrows. I know we only discussed the possibility of starting a business together, but it wouldn't hurt to have some numbers for rent or mortgage to improve the business plan.

"I handle them all," he replied. "What are your requirements for the commercial property?"

Marco told him about our plan to open a studio. He mentioned that I wanted at least three rooms. "Steph wants a designated yoga room, a Zumba room, and I want at least one room for self-defence and martial arts," Marco explained when Emilio asked why we needed a three-room minimum.

"I want the Zumba room to be soundproof," I added. "Yoga and martial arts require some concentration."

Emilio thought for a few minutes before pulling the phone from his back pocket. He opened the app he used and opened a few potential properties. "I'm not the agent of record, but I could assist you," Emilio said, passing me the phone. Hector and Emilio stepped toward the counter and stove to continue cooking dinner while Marco and I looked at the listing.

"The rental rooms in the gym look promising," Marco said. I guess we're doing this without a business plan. "We still need the details to approach potential investors."

"I want in," Hector and Emilio replied at the same time. I smiled at their enthusiastic replies. We discussed the options and the money each person should invest.

I still had a ton of money from neutralizing Gomez. The government wired additional funds they had set aside for that purpose. It was a ridiculous amount. They should have donated the money to a worthy cause. Emilio emailed a bunch of properties to me. Creating a business plan for our business would be a lot easier. Marco left the kitchen briefly. When he returned, he placed a laptop on the kitchen table. I knew, without asking, that he wanted me to work on our business plan.

When the timer sounded for dinner, I had everything prepared. It was a rough copy, but I had a better idea of what was needed. I had two proposals prepared a few hours later. Hector and Emilio said they still wanted to invest in our company. Marco promised to have his lawyer prepare contracts for Emilio and Hector. We said goodbye to Hector and Emilio a few hours later. I was tired.

Marco and I decided to visit the bond office the following morning. We wanted to pick up more files. He had a few skips, but I still had time to capture the criminals. Their bonds expire before the weekend. Marco and I had our work cut out for us.

We ate breakfast before leaving for the bonds office. I already had the files for the outstanding FTAs. Marco parked the car in front of the building. Like my Merry Men, he had excellent parking karma. I shook my head and climbed from the passenger seat.

Lula was sitting on they Naugahyde couch while Connie was drying her nails using the computer fan. "Hi, guys," I said when I opened the door.

"I missed ya, white girl," Lula said as she squeezed me tight enough for her boob to escape her spandex top. Marco groaned. From the corner of my eye, I saw him turn around. Lula giggled and fixed her top. "I was a little excited to see ya. Who is this gorgeous man?"

Connie looked between Marco and me. She had a confused look on her face before she asked, "The rumours are true? You have a twin brother?"

"The one about having a twin brother, yes. I'm not sure what else the Burg is spreading," I replied. "Marco, I'd like you to meet Connie and Lula." I pointed to the woman as I said her name. He didn't extend his hand to shake, but he nodded in acknowledgement.

I heard the back door open. Vinnie entered the office. When he saw Marco and me in the reception area, he froze in his tracks. "You're alive," Vinnie said to Marco.

"Obviously," Marco replied. "Am I supposed to know you?"

"I guess not," Vinnie said. "I was six when you died." I never considered that Vinnie would remember my brother. "Uncle Frank told us to keep Marco a secret."

Well, that certainly explains why Vinnie never mentioned him before. "We're here to collect the files," I said. Vinnie grabbed the lower skip ones off Connie's desk. "Marco is helping me capture the FTAs. We can handle the mid-range ones that Rangeman usually grabs outside their contract."

Vinnie assessed Marco before asking, "Do you have training?"

"I served six years in the Army and another five years as Delta Force," Marco replied. "Stephanie and I can manage. I have a black belt in Karate, Taekwondo, Aikido, Judo and Krav Maga."

"Vinnie, I have my Blue belt in all those disciplines. I've been kickboxing too," I added. "My shoulder isn't one-hundred percent yet, so I need Marco's help. I'm not comfortable handling the skips without a partner."

"You're learning," Vinnie said before passing us the mid-ranged skips. The high bond ones would get handled by Rangeman.

Lula, Connie and I caught up for half an hour before Marco and I went after our first skip. We captured the men from the first set of files. I read the top file on my lap. Munro Marchino got charged with multiple accounts of domestic assault.

His wife resembled me too much for comfort. "Of course, I look like his wife, I mumbled. Marco pulled over to the side of the road to read the file. "He's not going to like you either."

"We can handle Marchino," Marco confidently said. He drove to Marchino's apartment. Since he lived on the sixth floor with no fire escape, we didn't need to cover the back.

Marchino lived in a high-rise apartment. It was just outside the rough area on Stark St. Marco parked the car a block away and made sure it was secured before we approached the building.

Marco and I wore dark jeans and blue tops. We had not intentionally coordinated. It kind of happened. Instead of wearing sneakers, I wore my CAT boots. They were sturdier, and Marco said they would protect my feet if I stepped on rusty nails and broken glass. I'm not sure how I could step on a rusty nail, but I didn't argue with him. I've learned to pick my battles.

Imagine that! I can follow orders without the urgent desire to defy the request. My Merry Men would be proud of me. Heck, I'm proud of myself. Marco and I worked hard to get me past my aversion to following instructions. The new and improved Stephanie would surprise the poor unprepared suckers. Mwah ha ha. Marco chuckled. I swear he heard my inner monologue.

"You're easy to read, Steph. Remember to stay to the side of the doorknob," Marco said. I rolled my eyes and followed him up the stairs to Marchino's apartment. Since my name was on the file, I knocked on the door.

When I heard the lock disengage, I stepped to the left. "What do you want?" Munro yelled.

"I represent Vincent Bail bonds. You missed your court date," I said. Marco stuck his foot in the door, grabbed Munro by the scruff of his neck and pulled him through the door. Munro managed to shake off Marco. I swept his feet from beneath him. When Munro fell face-first onto the floor, I pulled his hands behind his back and cuffed him.

We were smiling when we brought Munro Marchino into the TPD. Robin Russell was sitting behind the desk. "Great job catching Marchino," Robin said when I gave her the capture papers. As she typed the details into the computer, she quietly asked, "Is your brother single?"

"Have you ever slept with Morelli?" I countered.

"No. I don't sleep with my coworkers," she replied. I nodded. After an officer took Marchino back to holding, Marco approached the desk.

"Hello, I'm Marco, Stephanie's brother."

She shook his hand and replied, "Robin Russell." I waited for them to exchange phone numbers. It surprised me when Marco gave Robin his phone number first.

When we got back into the car, I asked, "Why did you give Robin your number?"

"She's pretty, and she didn't flirt shamelessly. I don't have time for flighty women," he replied. "Besides, I felt electricity when I touched her hand." As we drove away, I caught Morelli watching us.