Chapter Two

Jeanne Ellen POV

"Hey, Steph, how are you doll?" Silence. "Steph?" I asked again.

"Gigi?" Steph's voice was quiet but so tired and sad.

"Steph, are you okay?"

She sobbed once, then caught herself. "Richard was fucking the nanny; I came home early and caught them in our bed!"

"Oh my god Steph, are you okay? What am I saying, of course you're not okay. Did Zoë see?" I would track him down and kill him with my bare hands if my beautiful niece saw that.

"No, she fell asleep on the subway on the way home from the aquarium. I put her in her bed then when I opened my bedroom door, I found them. He was supposed to be working, preparing for his big case."

I shook my head disgustedly. I never trusted Steph's husband whom I privately nicknamed The Dick, but she loved him, so I kept my mouth shut. "I'm so sorry, Doll. You don't deserve this. What are you going to do?"

She took a deep sigh and I waited patiently for her to talk. "I kicked them both out, but I can't afford this place without his salary. And I need someone to take Zoë to preschool and pick her up again and watch her while I work. I can't stop working because I need the money. I'm completely screwed here."

"Steph, take a deep breath. Let's take it one step at a time. First, if you're getting a divorce, you are entitled to spousal maintenance, and don't forget child support. Though, since he's a lawyer, I suspect he'll make your life miserable until you can get a court order. Hopefully he'll be reasonable." I thought pigs would fly before The Dick would be reasonable, but I hoped I'd be proven wrong. "Listen, Steph, do you have any vacation time saved up?"

"I have a couple of weeks. We were planning on going somewhere warm in a couple of months when this case was over."

"Well, why don't you arrange to take your vacation time now and you two can come stay with us? It's not warm here, but you know we have more than enough room. You can catch your breath and regain your equilibrium. You can even come today if you want," I offered. I'm sure my husband would be fine with it. He's only met Steph a few times since we were married a couple of years ago, but they got along well. He also hated her husband and thought he was too controlling, but like me, kept his opinion to himself.

"Are you sure Tank would be okay with that?" she asked.

"I'm sure, but if you want, I'll ask him before you come."

"I want to come. I need to get out of this apartment. I don't know how I can even sleep in my own bed after what happened. Please ask him."

I promised to call her back in a little while and hung up, then went to find my husband. He was in the kitchen preparing his famous potato salad for the last barbecue of the year we'd host before it got too cold to do so. Everyone should be arriving in a couple of hours and the steaks and chicken had been marinating since yesterday. Thankfully, we weren't on the hook for all the food alone because it would cost us a fortune otherwise.

"Hey, Lover," I said, wrapping my arms around his massive frame from behind.

"Hi, Baby. What's up?" he asked, turning around to wrap his arms around me and brush my lips with a kiss.

"I just got off the phone with Steph. The Dick cheated on her with their nanny, in their own bed, and she caught them. She kicked them out and now she's freaking out, though she's trying to hold it together."

"Ah fuck," Tank said. "Do we need to kill him?" He said it sort of jokingly, but I knew it could become a reality.

I chuckle. "No, but I said she could come stay with us for a couple of weeks while she figured out her next steps. Are you okay with that?"

"Sure. She's family, and a nice person. It'd be nice to see Squirt too. When is she coming?"

"I don't know, but I said she could come anytime. She will need to talk to her boss to take some time off, I imagine. I'll tell her she can come anytime, right?"

He hugged me tightly. "You're such a good sister to her. Whatever she needs."

I dialled Steph from my cell phone while Tank turned back to his potato salad. I had already made a few other side dishes, like cheesy macaroni and two different types of salad. The men mostly ate healthy food but twice a year, we'd throw this barbecue, and the men knew it wouldn't be a "my body is my temple" day, though I figured probably all of them spent extra time in the gym the following day. I know I did.

"Hey Doll, Tank says it's fine with him if you come stay with us, whenever you want," I said when she answered.

"Oh, thank you," she replied. "I'm going to take Zoë to preschool tomorrow myself, then go in to work and explain things to my boss. She's so nice, I'm sure she'll give me the time I need. I'll pack a couple of bags for Zoë and me, then we'll be there tomorrow afternoon, okay?"

"Sounds good. How are you getting here?"

"I figured I could rent a car, then drop it off at the Trenton branch."

I thought for a moment. "Steph, why don't I come get you tomorrow after lunch and bring you back with me? It's only an hour and a half's drive to get there."

"I don't want to put you out. You have work too."

I laughed. "Steph, I'm a bounty hunter, when I'm not working a case for the government. I don't have regular hours; I make my own. I only have one file open right now, and I think I've got a plan worked out to find him in the morning. I can drop him off at the police station, then come there to pick up you and Squirt."

"If you're sure I won't be putting you out too much," she said in a sad tone. My heart broke a little for her. She was treated just as badly as I was when we were growing up, only I had the Army after that and the support of a decent man to build up my self-worth. Steph's mother has never let up on her and The Dick only made it worse. That was going to be my main goal for her stay here, to build up her self-esteem. If I had it my way, she'd move here permanently.

Before hanging up, we finalized plans for me to pick them up the following day, then I made my way back to the kitchen to help my husband get everything ready for our barbecue.