Page 84 of The Dis-Graced

“Well, that’s going to stop right here, right now. You have nothing to be ashamed of. I’m furious about this!”

“I am also mad—”

“But I’m fucking pissed! This is not going to be a small case. We are going in guns blazin’!”

“Amanda, there’s no point. If something could be done, Brigger would have done it by now. This is probably taking a toll on his career and marriage too.”

“Well, we’ll see.” Amanda pulls out her phone and begins typing.

“What are you doing?” I ask, anxiety needling every single one of my nerves.

“Making a call.”

“To who?”

She turns her phone to face me.

“Oh, no!”

A knock sounds on the door, drawing Amanda’s attention.

“You can’t!” I gasp.

“Don’t move!” Amanda says. “I’ll be back in a moment.”

She leaves, and I hear the door open, but I’m so far lost in my mind that I can’t focus on what she’s saying.

Part of me wishes I hadn’t even told her. I’ve learned to accept my fate, and based on the phone call I had with the CEO of Tops Off News, I’m pretty sure I’m a shoe-in. I’ll have my career in journalism, I’ll just be reporting sans clothing. No big deal, right?

“Lucas!” I hear Amanda yell.

Annabelle gurgles, and I wipe an ungodly amount of spit from her chubby cheeks.

I could have my job back. I could be reinstated. Things could go back to normal.

But as much as I’d love for that to be true, I know that will never happen. Even with the best outcome, my career would never again be about my journalism. It would be about the scandal, what happened to me. Questions would be pointed at me instead of me being the one asking them.

There’s a small crowd in the entryway, but my mind drowns them out, thinking on what good could come of what Amanda’s proposing.

A gruff voice shatters my concentration. “Ma’am, I’m gonna request that you come with me.”

I look up to see a police officer offering me his hand.

“Excuse me?” I ask, my brow drawing inward.

“I’m going to have to ask you to come back to the precinct with me.”

“I don’t understand,” I say, utterly confused.

“She’s not going anywhere, and neither is Luke!” Amanda says.

“Ma’am, it’s not going to take much for me to turn this into an arrest,” a police officer says, “and if it comes to that, I won’t be so kind, and you’ll be going out the front entrance.”

Arrest?

“Over my—”

“Amanda,” Luke says, “we’ll get this straightened out. The last thing we need is any more tabloid headlines.”