I sat in my car, which was still parked in front of the prison, my head in my hands.

   The look on Dakota's face played through my mind the whole time. The pain behind her eyes, the sadness in her voice.

   I wiped at my eyes, taking in a big breath. "Ok, Val, pull it together. The trial starts tomorrow and you still don't have a good enough case. If you really wanna help Dakota right now, then you have to get her out of this place."

   Then, my mind wandered back to the feeling of her lips on mine. I absentmindedly rested my finger against my lips. 'And that sure as hell didn't help anything.' I thought. But, I just couldn't get her out of my mind...

   I met Millie at our favorite restaurant, deciding I needed to come clean.

   "What's with the long face?" Millie asked.

   I shook my head, letting out a frustrated sigh. "Dakota... She... These two women, they..."

   A few tears leaked down my cheeks, I was unable to get the words out.

   Millie rested her hand on mine. "Val, what happened?"

   I wiped at my eyes before closing them. "They caught her in the showers and... And they beat her and..."

   I just shook my head again.

   Millie sat back in her seat, letting out a sigh of her own. "Jesus... What about the guards? Why didn't they stop them?"

   I let out a scoff. "According to Dakota they were nowhere to be found."

   Millie shook her head now. "Thats our tax dollars hard at work." She said sarcastically.

   "They should've been there... Unless..." I started.

   "Unless what?" Millie asked.

   "Unless someone paid them off. Told them to leave Dakota alone. Told them to let those... Those monsters have their way with her..."

   "Who would do that?"

   I looked up at her. "Who do you think?"

   Realization crossed her features. "You really think the chief would sink that low?"

   I shrugged. "Why not? Maybe he wants to scare her into keeping quiet. Or, maybe he just wants to punish her..."

   Millie looked down at the table, seemingly deep in thought. "That's pretty thin..."

   "True, but if we can prove it, we might be able to prove her innocence." I replied.

   She looked up at me. "And, how're we supposed to prove that?"

   "We put him on the stand. He's hot headed and unpredictable. If we can piss him off just enough, he might break." I said.

   Millie sat back then, folding her arms over her chest. "That's risky. He's a respected, decorated sheriff with over two decades on the force. Not to mention he comes from a family of well respected officers in this community. If we're wrong, we'll only hurt Dakotas case."

   "I know this was his doing, Millie... He hurt her and I won't rest until I take everything from him..." I replied sternly, my mind wandering back to Dakota's shaking frame, her tear streaked eyes. The kiss...

   Millie studied me. "What's gotten into you..?"

   I averted her gaze. "She... She kissed me..."

   Millie threw her hands up then. "Jesus, Val!"

   Some other patrons started turning their attention to our table.

   "Keep your voice down." I whispered.

   She closed her eyes, resting her head in her hands. "Val, you're gonna blow up this case and possibly your career because a cute girl kissed you?"

   I rolled my eyes. "It's more than that... You didn't see her... The fear in her eyes... It broke my heart..."

   Millie let out a sigh. "I'm sorry, Val... But, you can't let your feelings get the better of you... The outcome of this case could cost Dakota her life... You're a lawyer first and you need you get your head on straight if you want any chance of winning this thing and saving that poor girl from a life sentence... or worse."

   I looked down, a long breath escaping me. "Millie, I..."

   She took my hand from across the table. "I understand what you're going through... But, if you want to help her, you have to get your shit straight."

   I finally met her gaze. "I know and I will."

   She sat back then. "Good, because we have a long battle ahead of us. The trial starts tomorrow."

I sighed. "I know, don't remind me..."

I sat in my cell, Teagan standing outside, notebook and pen in hand. "Ok, Dakota, I know this isn't gonna be easy, but I need you to tell me everything that happened."

I looked down at my feet, the memories flashing through my head. "Everyone left... Even the guards... I was all alone... I tried to fight back... But, they were to strong..."

Teagan wrote down my words as I described the incident in as much detail as I could. The pain and the fear creeping their way back into my body. Just describing it was one of the most painful experiences of my life next to losing Holly.

"... And, uh, after twenty minutes or so, the guards finally came back. They helped me get dressed, apologized, then led me back to my cell..."

Teagan wiped at her eyes, sniffling a little. "Did you happen to catch the guards' names?"

I just shook my head.

She closed her notebook, nodding. "Ok... I have all that I need... Dakota?"

I met her gaze. "Yeah?"

She shook her head. "I'm just... I'm so sorry... I can't take back what happened to you, but I promise it won't go unpunished."

I gave her a small, defeated smile. "Thank you..."

She reached her hand through the bars, resting it on my shoulder. "It's the least I can do... And, from now on, I'll accompany you to and from the showers... I promise nothing like that will ever happen to you again..."

I looked deep into her eyes, seeing the sincerity behind them. "Thank you..."

She just nodded before turning on her heel and heading for the door.

I stopped her before she could leave. "Teagan?"

She turned to face me. "Yeah?"

"Is there... Is there any way you could guard my cell from now on..? I just feel a lot safer when you're around..."

She smiled a little. "I'll see what I can do."

Then, she was out the door, the old guard taking her place shortly after.

I laid down in my bed then, closing my eyes, when the guard suddenly spoke.

"How're you holding up?"

I sat up, surprised. "Uh... I'm doing ok... All things considered."

She just nodded before opening her magazine, silence filling the room for the rest of the day...