By the time Lucy hit the city limits of Belfort she was exhausted. She had stopped for coffee and had the radio tuned to something upbeat, but none of it was helping. The expanse of long dark road that wound before her had a hypnotizing effect.

Perhaps that was why the raccoon that darted out in front of her caught her off guard, and she slammed on her breaks swerving so hard she ran off the road, barely missing a tree. It only took seconds for police lights to turn on behind her. She had noticed a car some distance back, but with the light blinding her she had no clue that it was a police vehicle.

Putting the car in park she rested her head against the seat's headrest. She was sure that the police officer had seen the raccoon and was only coming to check on her, and it would give her a minute to calm down before she continued to her grandmother's.

She turned off her radio and prepared to roll the window down, but when she saw it was Joel Bradley approaching she groaned, mentally preparing to defend and deflect as she rolled down her window, but she had no chance as her door was automatically wrenched open and her arm was grabbed as she was pulled from the vehicle.

"I should have known it was you Lucy Monroe."

Lucy was quite sure he had known it was her, which was why he had been following her.

"Have you been drinking?" He pulled her away from the car, his hand like a steel band around her arm.

"No," Lucy answered.

"It looks like you have been drinking, you ran off the road and almost hit a tree." He pulled her to the back of her car and spun her around. "Place your hands on the back of the car."

"Why?" she asked, unwilling to comply and open herself to him like that.

"Are you resisting arrest?" he demanded roughly, grabbing her arm and twisting behind her back.

"Arrest! What crime have I committed?" She fought him.

"Driving under the influence," he said, completely serious.

"This is harassment, you haven't even tested me to see if I have been drinking, which I most certainly have not!" she insisted.

But he wasn't interested as he threw her up against the car and reached for his cuffs. Lucy was really starting to get scared, it was the middle of the night and it was unlikely another car would pass them for some time. Joel could do whatever he liked to her.

It took him only a few seconds to cuff her since she was no match against his strength. He spun her around and started to pat her down, taking what felt like an unnecessary amount of time around breasts and inner thighs.

Lucy closed her eyes feeling humiliated, there was nothing she could do, she was close to tears when a car pulled over in front of hers, and her body sagged in relief at the sight of Zeb's massive form unfurling from the car. She hadn't wanted to see him again, but she was relieved that she was.

"Is there a problem here?" he asked, approaching Lucy at a steady and unhurried pace. It was too dark to make out the expression on his face, but she could hear the steel in his voice.

"This is police business, you need to get in your car and leave, otherwise I'll be forced to arrest you for obstruction of justice." Joel pushed Lucy towards the back of his squad car.

"It looks more like harassment to me, but go ahead, call for back up and arrest me," he suggested, stepping in front of the backdoor of the squad car, blocking Joel from placing Lucy in it.

When Joel tried to stop her Lucy kept walking right into Zeb's chest. Zeb stayed close, but otherwise he didn't touch her.

"I'll ask again, why are you arresting her?" Zeb stared down at Joel, expecting an answer.

"It's not my place to say, now step aside." Joel tried to pull Lucy away, but Zeb's arm reached under her cuffed arm and around her waist.

"As her legal representation, I have a right to know why she is being arrested," Zeb insisted.

"You're not a lawyer." Joel snorted his disbelief.

"I assure you I am a lawyer, and I'm sure Lucy will confirm that I am her lawyer if you ask."

Lucy nodded her head, realizing that she really knew nothing about the man that was holding her against him so tightly, but she trusted him.

"She is being arrested for drunk driving," Joel ground out between his teeth.

"What leads you to believe that she is drunk?" Zeb questioned, looking down at Lucy, looking into her clear and alert eyes. "She looks alert to me, and I don't smell any alcohol on her."

"I witnessed her run her car off the road." Joel explained, pointing to her car, which sat haphazardly on the side of the road behind them.

"It didn't have anything to do with the dead raccoon in the road behind us?" Zeb asked.

Lucy swore she had missed it, which meant that Joel had to have hit it and kept on going, and that meant that Joel did know why she had swerved and ended up on the side of the road.

"And of course, you've given her a field sobriety test or a breathalyzer test, have you even bothered to read her her rights?" Zeb watched Joel squirm.

"I'll do that at the station."

"Then I suggest you call for back-up and arrest me for obstruction of justice, and my one phone call will be to the judge to make sure that there is a court order for the video that your camera has taken." Zeb waited, and when Joel still seemed indecisive he continued, "or you can let Lucy go and we'll forget the whole thing, because you and I both know she isn't drunk."

Joel muttered something under his breath as he undid Lucy's cuffs. "Fine, but I want her to prove that she's not drunk, I want her to do a field sobriety test," he insisted.

Zeb gave a short nod in agreement, looking down at Lucy, making sure that it was alright.

"He won't have to touch me again, will he?" she asked, shuddering at the memory of his hands running over her body.

"No, it won't be necessary," Zeb assured her coolly, but she saw something close to rage flare in his eyes.

Lucy nodded and stepped away from Zeb, glad that he was watching as Joel led her through the test. When it was over he turned and walked away, getting into his car and driving off without a word.

Lucy stood on the side of the road, rubbing her wrists, now that the ordeal was over she started to feel the chill of the October night seeping into her bones.

"Are you really a lawyer?" she asked, not knowing what else to say. What did one say to an ex-lover? It was a new situation for her. She hadn't heard from the man in over two months, and as if she had conjured him up suddenly, he was there to save her.

"Yes, it was my first career choice, but when my father grew ill unexpectedly I had to step in and take over the family business, and it turned out that I was better at that than I was at being a lawyer."

"I don't know, you seemed like a very good lawyer just now." Lucy took a deep shaky breath, realizing that it could have gone so much worse if he hadn't of shown up when he did. "How long have you been back?" she asked.

"I got back this afternoon, I just finished having dinner with Holden Brown and was on my way home," he explained.

Lucy nodded, her eyes narrowing at the coincidence of being called home on the same day he returned. "Have you been to see Etta?" she asked suspiciously, she swore she saw his lip twitch at the question.

"I stopped by looking for you." He smiled but didn't say anything else.

"How did everything go in Houston?" she asked, walking back towards her car, not wanting to prolong the conversation. He didn't seem in a hurry to be on his way, but he wasn't exactly falling to his knees begging her forgiveness or sweeping her into his arms telling her how much he had missed her.

"It got sorted, along with a few other problems that occurred in New Orleans," he assured her.

"I'm glad," and then because she was a glutton for punishment, "I heard about your engagement. Congratulations." She was pleased at how steady her voice sounded considering how her heart was shattering as she said the words aloud.

"What if I told you there was a story behind that?" he asked, stepping towards her.

Lucy took a step back, bumping up against her car, she turned to open the door. "I would say that there almost always is." She paused needing to hear him say it.

"But it is true, are you engaged?" she asked, coming directly to the point.

"I never agreed to it?" he said vaguely.

"What the hell does that mean!" Lucy insisted.

"It's a long story and you're tired. I'll catch up with you soon and I'll tell you all about it." He held her door for her and waited as she sat behind the wheel of her car. "Are you alright to drive home?" he asked.

"Yes, it's not that far." Lucy said, a little dazed at his simple dismissal of the subject.

Didn't he care? She felt the anger start to simmer as she asked herself the question.

"You sure you don't want me to follow you?" he asked

"Yes!" she said behind clenched teeth, her anger suddenly swelling to rage. He was concerned now, but where was all that concern over the past two months?

"You're simply lovely when you're angry," he said, dropping a quick kiss on her lips before closing her door for her.

Then she watched, astounded, as he walked away without a backward glance, got in his car and drove away.  She wasn't sure what she expected, an explanation, a denial, a guilty apology maybe, but not a vague dismissal of the subject and a parting kiss as if he would see her tomorrow and it would all be fine.

Even though it almost gave her hope that it would.