“You're at my... why?”

“I received a delivery for you this morning,” he said. “Where are you?”

Royce rolled out of bed when she gave him the address. “Any clue what’s going on?”

She headed to the closet. “He’s going to tell me to plea.”

“Did he say that?”

She yanked a pink t-shirt from a hanger in his closet, that was beginning to feel like hers, clinging to that little piece of goodness in the midst of a whole lot of hell.

By the time Lauren had dressed in jeans and pulled on boots, Royce was leading Milton to his living room. The District Attorney, forty-something, good looking, and dressed in his standard black suit and red tie, was crackling with anger. “I’m having the trial date postponed a week. Plead the case.”

She crossed her arms in front of her. “Milton…”

“The Mayor wants the case done. I want this case done. I only let you ride this out because the victim’s family took it to the news.”

“Not because the woman murdered her husband,” Lauren said. “Of course not.”

“The public, and the jury, will be sympathetic to her,” he said. “They won’t be when we get a building full of people killed and I did nothing to stop it.”

Lauren took that like a punch in the gut. “If we plead it out now, you’ll look weak and we’ll invite other attacks. You’ll risk your office falling apart, and on an election year to boot.”

He considered her a long moment. “You tell the opposing council to give us something to work with, a piece of this puzzle that justifies the deal we swore wasn’t happening. Then you plead the damn thing and do it by Monday.” He headed for the door and stopped and turned. “And I’m going to let the media know that there is new evidence, and plead talks are in the works. So you damn sure better come up with a good follow up story to justify this. I’m in this because of you.”

Lauren stood there, staring after him, unmoving even when the door slammed shut. Royce pulled her into his arms. “Baby”

She pushed away from him. “No. Don’t. You want this too. Everyone wants this. I don’t know why I fight like this. I don’t know why I think that what is right matters when no one else does. I need to go call Mark.”

He looked like he might argue, but then nodded, stepping back. “Just remember his reasons aren’t mine.”

She scraped her teeth over her lip, chest tight. “I know. I do. I don’t mean to lash out at you. I’m just upset and confused and I just don’t know what I’m doing anymore. But I know I can’t keep this up. I can’t leave Julie in a hotel. I can’t put other people at risk. It just feels like this was all for nothing.”

“I’m here when you need me.”

Her lashes lowered and lifted. “I know and it matters.” She headed to the kitchen, taking her phone and some paperwork with her, before sitting down at the table.

A few minutes later, she was deep in conversation with Mark. “I’ll get you what you need,” he said, pausing a moment. “Look. I’m happy to get my deal, but let’s put that aside. You’ll never get to fight for what you believe in in the public sector. Lindsey and I have been talking about you. We want you to come work for us. Or go out on your own, Lauren, or with Julie. Just get the hell out from under that ass**le Milton.”

She sank back into the chair. “Until this week, I think I would have said ‘no.’ I would have thought I was caving to the pressure and giving up on my beliefs.”

“Is that a ‘yes’?”

“It’s an ‘I’ll think about it.’ Seriously. I’ll think about it seriously.”

“I’ll take that,” he said. “Are you going to the annual Children’s Charity event at the museum? Lindsey and I will be there and we can talk.”

Oh, God. Julie coordinated the event every year and not without pain, and this time, while stuck in a hotel. “Yes. Probably.” If she could go without putting everyone at risk.

“Great. I’ll look for you. And how about I get you this plea information today, and we just get it behind us?”

“Email it,” she said. “And yes. Now that I’ve decided to do this, let’s be done with it.” She ended the call and noted the missed call from her father.

Lauren sighed and called him back, listening to half an hour of him telling her all the reasons she should quit her job. He almost talked her into keeping her job, when he said, “You can be my legal counsel for the Presidential campaign.”

“I’m sure Brad and Roger have that handled,” she said.

“We need you too, Lauren,” he said. “Running for the nomination is going to be a family affair. We might as well stand united.”

She could almost hear her stepmother in his words. “I support you, Father, but in the background.”

When they finally hung up, she sat there, staring into space, replaying the conversation, and telling herself not to let it impact her decision.

“You okay?”

Her gaze went to the doorway, to where Royce sauntered towards her, too graceful for such a large man, his long hair loose around his shoulders.

She pushed to her feet and wrapped her arms around his neck. “Mark wants to hire me and my father wants me to quit my job and join his campaign. Oh, and Julie has a huge charity event at the museum Saturday night that I am now afraid to go to for fear I will turn it into ‘Nightmare in the Museum.’”