I looked up from the notes I was pretending to read, and tried not to be too harsh. “Cin, I need you to take a couple of steps back here.” Things had been strained between us since I told her I could not keep waiting for this office to put out an official statement about the stop. Days later, I was still waiting for an answer. Like Patrice had told me that night, I’d finally realized that being on the right side of this would mean that I would lose some people I thought I could count on. Cindy’s inaction was disappointing but that was her choice. I had my own to make.

Debating on whether I should clue her in on what was going through my head or let her find out what I was actually doing once it came out of my mouth like everyone else, I went with “I’m beginning to feel handled, and I don’t like that.”

“Easton—” she began, but I held up my hand, not wanting to hear her once again explain why my being the next DA would be the salvation on the entire town. “Cindy, I need to do whatever is best for me, as well as for this office. I will not be the DA so that you can continue to run things by proxy.” I ran my hands over my face in frustration when I saw how hurt she seemed by my words. I ran my tongue over my front teeth a few times, trying hard to say what I needed to say in a way that didn’t break her heart.

“I need to do this my way. You put me in a terrible position by announcing my candidacy alongside the Suarez conviction.”

She sighed, crossing her arms over her chest. “Lorraine is pissed with me, too.”

“Of course she is,” I protested, unable to muster any humor.

“I just wanted to give you a push. I know how much this town needs you. I was a decent DA, but I’m not even half the trial lawyer you are.”

“Cindy, being DA is about a lot more than trials.”

She nodded as she tightened an arm around my waist. “You’re good with people and I think you have the political courage to do a few things I could not. You’d be an outstanding DA.”

I shook my head and lifted my wrist to look at the time. “I need to be in the conference room for this interview, why don’t you walk me down.”

As we made our way down the stairs I stopped so I could look at Cindy. “It’s not that I don’t want it, but I need to be in control of my path. If I wanted to be in an environment where someone else held the reins of my life, I would’ve gone to work for my father.”