Page 20 of Dissension

Dieter holds all the power in his relationships, even when he plays it off like he doesn’t.

Ray shifts on his feet and runs a hand through his already chaotic brown hair. His mouth is pulled tight with discomfort. A whisper ofconcern. “You should drop him as a client, Kara. For your own good. The Bittinger family has a lot of power…and with power comes corruption.Thatis what you will be expected to hide and defend.” He gestures back to the precinct. “You saw what happened in there. Do you think our Captain just cuts interviews short like that for everyone?No. Not by a longshot.”

Kara bites her lip and remains silent. She’d found it odd, the way the Captain abruptly cut everything off. Bribery? Perhaps. But shedoesn’t want to know, she doesn’t want to know about anything like that-

Seeing her unwillingness to comment, Ray makes a noise low in his throat, shaking his head. There’s disbelief on Ray’s rugged face. “No comment, eh? You really want to defend a man like him? When you can’t admit that what you just saw wasn’t normal?”

Anger slices through the far-hidden shame that Kara is trying to squash into silence. “He’s a spoiled man, but he’snotthe wicked evil criminal that you’re making him out to be.”

You know nothing about him, Nick’s voice whispers in the back of her mind, ominous.

She tries not to pay attention to the echoes of Nick’s old warnings. He was jealous of her being around Dieter, always had been, even months ago. Nick was controlling and while a part of Kara liked that about him, she would not let him get in the middle of her working relationship with Dieter.

“When I met you -no, don’t give me that look- I’m not talking aboutthatnight. I’m talking about the Debra Mills case.” Ray makes a frustrated sound. “You came off as someone who wanted to help others who needed saving. You wanted to fight for people who deserved it!”

Air burns up in her lungs.

“I don’t know where you got that impression,” Kara says tightly, feeling the darkness worming about in her guts. She doesn’t like him trying to asses her like this. It cuts too close. It peels back the onion on how she’s been changed in these past few months, startingwith what Nick did to her. Continuing with how Dieter seems to be all smoke and mirrors. How she can’t be certain that she’s truly representing a good person. “Maybe I never cared, maybe it was just a paycheck to me.”

Lies, lies, lies.

Scoffing, Ray shakes his head with a bitter laugh. “I know that’s not true.” He seems to notice that they’re drawing curious gazes, arguing the way they are in front of the busy precinct. He gestures towards the distant park. “Let’s take a walk, shall we?”

She goes with him, chest tight and uncomfortable with restrained emotions. Shehasn’tgone to the dark side of law; not like he’s claimed. Dietrich might not benice, but he’s not some crazed evildoer with endless sums of money.

Ray has his hands in his pockets as they stroll down the streets.

“Kara. Look. I’m not trying to start a fight. I’m trying to-”

“Save me?” She retorts sarcastically. Her nerves are beginning to get rubbed raw from this conversation. “How very White Knight of you.”

He exhales hard with distaste. “There are people you shouldn’t get involved with. Dietrich Bittinger is at the top of that list. When I joined the force years ago, I was warned to look the other way with that family. You get what I’m saying? And you’ve somehow got yourself chained along with his string of lawyers.” Ray stops talking abruptly, eyes narrowed off in another direction. Something or someone, likely catching his keen detective gaze. Kara glances around and sees nothing of interest in their surroundings. His expression relaxes after a moment and he returns his attention to her. “How did you get yourself mixed up with his ilk anyway?”

Ah, the million-dollar question. “Gale Clarke was my mentor at Benson & Clarke before she left the firm,” Kara answers, looking at the cracked streets, trying to avoid tripping as she keeps pace with the man beside her. “She’s Bittinger’s lead legal representative. I met him through her.” That’s mostly true. Technically, the first time she met him was in a limo with Nick, taken aback by the sheer level of attraction she felt towardsthe wretched blonde on the other side of the car. His gleaming, amused eyes. His grin. How she didn’t want to feel that way, didn’t want to be drawn to someone like that.

Ray doesn’t sense the half-truth. If he does, he doesn’t mention it. “How unfortunate for you.”

“That depends on how you look at it,” Kara replies snidely. “He’s a great paycheck and pain in my ass. Besides-”

He pauses again, frowning at something. He’s done this at least two different times since they began this walk and Kara is beginning to find it off-putting. Is he not paying attention to their conversation anymore or what? “Am I keeping you from something?” She asks as tactfully as she can, slightly annoyed.

Waving her words away with a sharp movement from his hand, Ray replies, “No. It’s nothing like that. Are you being followed?”

That’s anoddfucking thing to say. It sends a chill down her spine regardless, some niggling warning in her head, a memory she can’t seem to grasp. “Am Iwhat?” She turns and looks in the direction of his frown, her eyes wide.

What is he freaking talking about?!

Before he can give her an answer, Ray bursts into action, heading towards a shadowed alley across from the park. “Hey, you!” Ray shouts, hand going to his hip as he starts toward a hooded shape that takes off running in the shadows. “Stop!”

She stares after him, mouth wide open. He’s chasing after someone! She doesn’t have the shoes to follow, so she remains standing on the sidewalk under the trees, staring at the alley he disappeared into at full speed. He can’t seriously have thought someone was stalking them this whole time…?

Why would anyone be following me? I’m no one, Kara thinks blankly, the fine hairs on her arms prickled.

Minutes pass and Kara settles herself down onto one of the park benches, feeling alert as her eyes scan hersurroundings. Occasionally, she twists around, glancing behind her suspiciously, feeling eyes on the back of her head.Am I being followed?Her thoughts turn dark once more. Kara thinks of the man outside her window at night. The one who didn’t care that she saw him.Or watched?

Or am I being threatened? Hell, why not all of it, all at once?

Eventually, when her patience almost hits its limit, Detective Ray Wellis comes back into view, back through the way he went, empty-handed. There’s sweat on his brow from his exertions as he comes huffing back to her side. “I lost him,” he says, panting for breath, his dark eyes scanning the area. “He sure took off quick when he saw me coming. That doesn’t seem like an innocent bystander to me.”

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