Free Player & the Game by Shelly Ellis Page A

if you had simply followed the rules!”
    No, I don’t need a lecture, Stephanie thought. I need advice.
    Lauren was a bit of a know-it-all. She had been since they were kids. Stephanie could remember pint-size Lauren lecturing Stephanie and the rest of the sisters in her high squeaky voice even back when she was five years old. But Stephanie had to admit that Lauren was also the most practical and resourceful of all her sisters, so she seemed like the best choice to talk to about something like this. Stephanie knew Lauren had a few hours before she had to be at her restaurant, so maybe she could spare some time to talk to Stephanie. After taking a quick shower, throwing on some makeup and clothes, Stephanie drove straight to the Weaver mansion to seek her little sister’s advice.
    Lauren now slowly shook her head and nibbled on crackers. She said they helped with her morning sickness.
    â€œThat is so crazy, Steph!” Lauren said between munches after Stephanie finished her story.
    â€œI know.” Stephanie’s shoulders slumped. “The worst part is the detective has no idea where Isaac’s gone. He thought I knew.”
    Lauren looked taken aback. “Why would you know?”
    â€œThat’s what I said! Isaac stole from me just like he stole from that other woman. He wouldn’t exactly give me a heads-up if he planned to skip town!”
    Lauren pushed her box of crackers aside on the kitchen island, wiped the crumbs from her hands, and cleared her throat. “Well, if the detective found Isaac once, I don’t see why he can’t find him again. Don’t worry. He said he would give you a call when he found him and let you know, right?”
    â€œYeah,” Stephanie answered, “but how do I know he isn’t just blowing me off like Ted and that other detective did? I mean . . . I thought they were going to help me and they were absolutely useless.”
    â€œSteph, you know damn well why they blew you off! There was no way in hell they were going to help you! The cops didn’t help me when I needed them either. Need I remind you of what happened with my ex?”
    Lauren was of course referring to her relationship with her ex-boyfriend, James Sayers, who once had been the richest and most powerful man in Chesterton. Lauren had agreed to be James’s trophy girlfriend for a few years . . . that is until he became both mentally and physically abusive. One night after James had beaten her badly, she had run from his house with just her car keys, purse, and nothing but the clothes on her back. She drove straight to the local Sheriff’s Office to try to press charges against James. But she said the sheriff had urged her not to do it. He said her family could face some serious consequences if she chose to go toe-to-toe with an influential man like James.
    For months after that, James stalked her and tried to intimidate her and her family in order to get her to come back to him, but she had refused to allow him to bully her. Lauren said the threats only stopped when James and her then-boyfriend and now-husband, Crisanto Weaver, finally had it out one night. After that, James never bothered her again.
    James had since pulled up stakes. He moved out of Chesterton soon after Lauren and Cris married. Stephanie had heard that he had taken up permanent residence at his brownstone in New York. His mansion in Chesterton on Great Oak Drive had been up for sale for months. Rumor had it among local real estate agents that James may have to sell it at a loss.
    Lauren was happy to see James gone for good, but she said that she would never forgive how she had been treated by the local police and many of the people in Chesterton during her whole ordeal. Being the wife of a former Dallas Cowboy had caused many people in their small town to act nice to her again to try to get in Cris’s good graces, but Lauren said she would never be fooled. She knew deep down how some of