Chapter Twenty-Four

Jeanne Ellen POV

"Hello?"

"Baby, Steph had a panic attack. She's here at Rangeman with Bobby."

"Shit. Is she okay? What happened?"

"I'm not sure. Ranger called to tell me since I'm not in the office. He said she was in her cubicle and heard her sobbing and breathing unevenly. He took her to Bobby's office; she's still there now."

"Do I need to come down to Rangeman?"

"I'm a little concerned about Zoë seeing her mom like that. She's calmed down, but she's still quite upset. As soon as a replacement arrives for my surveillance shift, I'll head back to the office, and when she's ready, I'll bring her home."

I let out a sigh. "Okay. You're probably right about Zoë. But if anything more happens, call me, and I'll ask Ella to watch her."

We hung up, but my mind was still occupied with Steph. She's had panic attacks before, but the last one I was aware of was when she was in college before she got together with The Dick. If she's had any since then, she hasn't shared that with me.

An hour later, Tank and Steph came home, and I hugged her. "Are you okay? I asked gently.

She sat down on a stool at the kitchen island after hugging Zoë hello. I had set Zoë up with some watercolour paints and paper on the kitchen floor, and she returned to painting a picture of a fish. "I'm okay," Steph said. "I don't know quite what happened, but I'm embarrassed. How can I go back to Rangeman after this? Those guys who saw me probably think I'm crazy." She buried her face in her hands, hiding from view.

Tank interjected, "no one thinks you're crazy, Steph. You're not the first person to have a panic attack, and you won't be the last. Those guys are mostly all former military. They've seen some shi-stuff," he corrected himself, with a glance in Zoë's direction.

"Should we go to the living room?" I asked.

"No. I don't want to talk about it right now. After seven-thirty, okay?"

I nodded, understanding that seven-thirty was Zoë's bedtime, so we'd have more privacy. "Well, we can talk about something else, then. I've got something to tell you."

She looked up at me inquisitively. "What?"

I smiled softly. "Don't worry. It's not bad." I've been doing some thinking and working on my financials. I want to add some real estate to my portfolio, and I thought it might be a good idea to buy a condo or townhouse, which I would then rent out. And I was thinking you could be my tenant."

Her eyes widened. "Are you serious?" she asked.

I nodded. "I am. I just made fifteen yesterday, and I'll have another thirty-five after the distraction we set up for tomorrow night. I have enough now to pay cash for something that would be suitable. And real estate is increasing in value right now, so it'll be a good investment for me. You also need a better place to live. I love having you here, but the pool house isn't good for the long term." I smiled. "We could go property shopping this weekend."

Tears flooded Steph's eyes, threatening to spill down her cheeks. "I don't even know what to say." She stood and hugged me tightly, murmuring in my ear, "I love you. I'm so glad you're my sister. Thank you."

"It's my pleasure, Steph. I love you, and I'm glad you're my sister, too," I whispered.

Later that night, after Steph put Zoë to bed, we sat in our living room with cups of herbal tea. Tank had gone out on a late-night stakeout with Ranger, so it was just us.

"I was thinking about everything that had happened since I found him in bed with Athena, ya know? Then I felt like I was being pushed or held down, and an elephant was sitting on my chest. It got harder to breathe, and then I was crying. I hadn't had a panic attack in a few years since before Zoë was born. I don't remember what happened after that, but from what I gathered, Ranger came into my cubby, picked me up, and carried me to the medical office where Bobby was. Bobby diagnosed it as a panic attack. He suggested I see a therapist or counsellor to sort out my feelings about all this." She waved her hands vaguely around her head as she spoke.

I listened attentively as she got it all out. "Do you feel any better now?" I asked.

"Not really. I'm not as hysterical as I felt earlier, but I'm overwhelmed. It's just too much. Everything keeps getting worse and worse. Gigi, if he's not even a lawyer, then how the hell is he paying for everything? Is it that porn site? Hector said he only found a few videos. But maybe he didn't find everything; I don't know. I guess I know why he was so adamant about keeping our money separate. He's juggling a lot of things."

"We'll get to the bottom of everything, and I promise you this, Steph, we'll make him pay for all the betrayals. I was wondering what you thought about visiting the faux Mrs. Orr. If The Dick is spending the weekends with her, maybe on Monday?"

She shrugged noncommittally. "Maybe. I've thought a lot about her, wondering if she knows. But I think she must not because who would marry someone knowing it's illegal and then have kids and a house with them? It's not like it's a sister wives type of situation." She laughed a little harshly. "Guess I don't have to worry anymore about Ranger wanting to have sex with me. No one wants to fuck a crazy woman."

"You're not crazy, Steph. Please don't say that. I am surprised that you didn't crack before you did, honestly. I would have shot up the whole range at Rangeman, but your way of release works too. Now you can focus on moving forward and bringing that bastard down. Right?"

"I know you're right. I wish I had had a panic attack that didn't happen publicly in front of those men. It's embarrassing, no matter what Tank says."

"I know those guys. They come over all the time. Some of them I've known since Basic. Trust me when I say PTSD has affected more than a few of them, even indirectly, and I'm sure they completely understand and do not think worse of you."

"Thanks, Gigi. I still feel humiliated, though."

I leaned over and hugged her. "These guys are caring men. I don't know even one I wouldn't trust. But could we talk a little bit about what prompted the panic attack in the first place? Because I have some ideas and thoughts, and I'd like to see what you think."

"Sure," she answered.

"I called Mr. Manoso today. Since you signed that waiver allowing me full access to your legal case, we discussed some of The Dick's actions. He wanted to discuss this with you but felt unsure if you would be open to taking legal action. Did you know bigamy is a Class E felony in New York and a Class D felony in Connecticut?"

She frowned. "I assumed it was illegal, but I didn't think about the type of crime."

"It's punishable by up to three or four years in prison in New York. And if he is a New York bar association member, which Mr. Manoso is looking into, he'd be automatically disbarred."

"You want me to file a complaint with the police." She said it matter-of-factually like she's already thought about it.

"Yeah, Steph, I do."

She sighed. "I already thought about it when we first learned about the second marriage. But I sort of stopped thinking about it because I didn't want my daughter to have a convicted felon father. Then we learned everything else, and now I don't care. I asked for full physical and legal custody because I couldn't ever trust him with Zoë. I never thought I'd say that. Despite how awful he sometimes was to me, he's always been a good dad to Zoë when he was around. She deserves better. So, yes, I will file a complaint. Especially now that he knows I want a divorce."

"I'm glad to hear that. The second big thing to discuss is the porn videos and website. It's a Class A misdemeanour to view, broadcast or record intimate or sexual nature images or videos of you when they were obtained through unlawful means, which is placing cameras in a place with an expectation of privacy, like your bedroom or bathroom. That can be another year in prison or three years of probation. I think you should file charges for that too."

Steph groaned. "If I do that, everyone will know there's stuff like that out there, and they'll look for it. I wanted everything to just go away in a quiet divorce without the possibility of affecting Zoë any more than necessary. But each thing I learn makes that seem impossible."

"Steph, he needs to pay for these betrayals and criminal acts. Otherwise, he just gets off scot-free, except for you leaving him. Do you want to let him get away with it?"

She shook her head. "No. I would want Zoë to fight with everything she has if anyone hurt her like this. The same goes for you, too. I guess I need to shine my spine, right?"

"You'll feel better. It's the right thing to do. Why did Mr. Manoso assume you wouldn't want to?"

"Probably because I told him the same thing I just told you. I hoped it'd all go away quietly. But that was in our first meeting before I knew about the videos."

"Shall we go to New York tomorrow, then? Tank says you should take tomorrow and the weekend off and come back refreshed on Monday," I suggested.

She nodded. "Yeah. Okay. If I'm putting on my big girl panties to do this tomorrow, should we go see Mrs. Orr, the sequel?"

I was impressed with her suggestion. I thought I was going to have to talk her into that too. "Definitely."

"Wait. What do I do with Zoë tomorrow? Daycare doesn't start until Monday."

"I can ask Ella if she'd like to spend the day with her. She adores kids and would probably jump at the chance."

"Doesn't she have to work? I can't imagine Ranger would be pleased that Zoë is taking everyone's time away from work. It was bad enough when I had to bring her with me."

"I think Ranger is a bit of a softy when it comes to her. Maybe you, too, judging by what you told me he propositioned." I winked. "He offered to hang out with her during our meeting with your lawyer."

She threw a pillow at me, then laughed. "Okay, let's ask Ella. But maybe this should all just wait until Monday when Zoë is in daycare?"

"We can discuss that if Ella is unable to help. I'm going to call her."

I pulled my phone out of my pocket and dialled Ella. After explaining our plans, she agreed she'd happily help and watch Zoë for the day. She also said she'd handle Ranger if he had a problem with it, but I somehow didn't think he would, so I didn't mention that to Steph.

She called Mr. Manoso, explained what we planned to do tomorrow, and said he seemed pleased to hear it. He let her know that she could provide his phone number to the police, and he'd work with them to provide any information they might need from him.

We each headed to bed with everything settled and a plan for tomorrow.