Page 10 of The System

“We did, yes. He was deceased. We think he died the day he was taken,” Dylan shared.

“Oh, God. I’m sorry.”

“So was I when we found him. There is some good news, though,” Dylan said.

“You found my criminal sister?”

“That, and I’ve got a new suspect in his disappearance.”

CHAPTER 5

Carina stared at the brief on her computer and fixed a typo. She stared at it again and then closed her eyes. She’d been at it all day and was exhausted. Truthfully, she’d been exhausted for a long time now and needed a vacation. As an assistant district attorney for the county, she shouldn’t be working this hard, but she was planning a run to lose the assistant part of her title once the current district attorney announced he was retiring and not running again. At forty years old, she would be not only the first female DA but also the youngest, and that just sounded so very good to her that the vacation would have to wait.

With the DA on his way out, he’d started to spend less and less time doing his job and expected his top assistants to pick up the slack, but he’d also all but publicly named Carina as his successor, and she knew that that endorsement would be essential to her chances of winning the race when there would be at least one other possible candidate that would give her a run for her money. Her main competitor had been with the office ten years longer than she had, and he had a lower close rate than she did, but he was also more of a politician than an attorney, so that would certainly give him a leg up in the race. She was the better lawyer, though, so while it was very much a political job, the DA role was also still about the law, and that was where she stood apart from the rest of the competition.

Carina had had three job offers out of her prominent law school. Two were with massive firms in major cities. One was with a smaller firm, but she would’ve made partner faster there. Instead, she’d opted to join the DA’s office, and she hadn’t ever looked back. Her job was an important one, and she took it very seriously. Paperwork was her least favorite part of the job, though, and her eyes were tired of staring at her screen. Her body was ready to stand up and walk into a courtroom to give an opening statement. That was where she thrived. She could make deals and take pleas, but she loved the trials. There was just something about outarguing another attorney and convincing a judge or a jury of her argument that got her blood running. She was picturing doing just that in her current trial when her desk phone rang, bringing her out of her zoned-out state.

“Jury’s in,” her paralegal said when Carina answered the phone.

“On my way,” she replied and hung up.

She stood and reached for her jacket, which had been hanging on the coatrack behind her desk, before she put it on and buttoned the single button. Grabbing her bag, she left her office and headed to court. This was exactly what she’d needed: a break from writing and reviewing briefs and motions and an actual end to the case she’d been working on for well over a year. Of course, this wouldn’t really be the end. Even if she’d won this case, the defendant’s attorneys would still file endless appeals that she’d have to deal with at some point, but for today, that wouldn’t matter.

She was pretty sure she had at least eleven of the jurors ready to vote guilty, but there was one woman who seemed to require more convincing throughout the trial, and Carina wasn’t sure she’d gotten there in the end. Arriving at the courtroom not long after the call, she spied the defendant sitting at his table, conferring with his lawyer. They looked nervous, which made Carina smile, but only on the inside. She didn’t relish taking someone’s freedom away like some prosecutors, but when a person broke the law, and she could prove it beyond a reasonable doubt, she’d take the win and enjoy it.

One of her favorite parts of winning a case like this one was what she did after the verdict came in. When she lost, her defeated mind only wanted to be at home with a glass of red and in a hot bath. When she won, though, her body carried her to the local bar. Not the local lawyer bar by the courthouse, as she tried not to mix business with pleasure, but the local bar that was three blocks away and had the hot owner who didn’t mind sex in her office while the crowd right outside it listened to the band playing cover songs.

She and Jessa had an arrangement that worked well for Carina. It had stopped when Carina had started seriously dating Tinley, but after the two of them had broken up, Carina had stopped by the bar after her first win in court, and they’d started things back up again. The sex was good, not outstanding, but it was the arrangement that she really got off on. She’d get a victory in the courtroom, go home, and change into her tight jeans, short heels, and her worn leather jacket with a button-down under it. She’d stroll into the bar and sit at a booth after ordering a glass of wine, and she’d wait. Jessa would always walk out with a case of beer, a bottle of liquor, or something else in her hand for the bar, and when she’d look up and see Carina, she’d give her the nod. Office door slammed closed. Lock twisted into place. Hands tearing at buttons. Zippers being lowered. Fingers stroking. Hips thrusting… Just thinking about it had Carina ready for it, but she still had to win her case, so she sat at her table and placed her bag in front of herself.

The next part was a routine she was incredibly familiar with. The bailiff walked in and told them to rise. The judge entered and told them to sit. He’d bring in the jury and ask if they’d reached a verdict. They’d say yes, in this case, and he’d ask the bailiff to bring it to him. Then, he’d read it to himself before he’d ask the bailiff to read it out loud to the court. If the attorneys asked, the judge would poll the jury. If the defendant was found guilty, the judge would remand him and set a sentencing date. If the defendant was found not guilty, that would be the end of it, and they’d go home.

“On count one, murder in the second degree, the jury finds Peter Walker guilty,” the bailiff read from the piece of paper.

Carina nodded once and waited.

The bailiff read out the additional two counts, of which the defendant was also found guilty, and that was it. The judge set their sentencing date, and the now-convicted man was taken away by the officers in the court.

Carina sighed, mentally preparing herself for the evening she’d planned. She couldn’t wait to change out of her court clothes and into that jacket, order her usual glass of wine, and get the nod from Jessa. Then, after they had sex, she’d go home and try to get some rest. The orgasm would help with that, and tomorrow, she would be back at another case.

Having the largest caseload of all the ADAs meant she was also the busiest. She didn’t mind, but she’d love to be able to pick her cases, which she’d be able to do as the DA. Since DAs rarely tried cases themselves, Carina would be able to choose the biggest or most important ones or even the ones that she cared about the most and still get some courtroom time while also advancing her career, so that gave her some extra motivation for the job.

Returning to her office to pack up for the night, she was both happy and worried when she saw Dylan Easton standing outside her door, leaning back against it, while Dylan’s wife sat on the bench opposite her, typing away on her laptop.

“Ada, can’t stop for the night, huh?” Carina asked.

“We’re supposed to be at dinner, but this one needed to talk to you, so I’m just getting in some extra work.” Ada pointed to Dylan, who shook her head at her slightly.

“Hey, Carina,” Dylan spoke then.

“Lieutenant, to what do I owe this little drop-by?”

“Want to join us for dinner?” Dylan asked.

“Dinner with you and a clearly annoyed Ada? I don’t know…”

“Hey, I’m not annoyed,” Ada argued. “Just hungry.”

“Need I remind you that I had to pick you up here because you had a child to advocate for in court?” Dylan teased her wife.

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