Carson barely had time to walk through the doors of the River Heights Police Department before B.D. Hawkins was at his side. He took Carson by the elbow and led him to his office.

"B.D., what is going on?" Carson demanded.

B.D. closed the door to his office and sat down behind his desk. When he looked at Carson, he looked very hesitant.

"Is this about Shepard?" Carson asked. He was starting to get rather impatient.

"Yes…" B.D. said. "He's willing to talk, but he has a price."

"Why did I need to be here then?' Carson asked.

B.D. let out a sigh and looked Carson right in the eyes. "You're the price, Carson. He'll only talk if you are present."

"What?" Carson asked, surprised.

"He has it in his sick little head that you're going to represent him," B.D. answered.

Carson shot up out of his seat. "That's preposterous!" he bellowed.

"I tried to tell him you would never do it in a million years, but he wouldn't hear any of it," B.D. said.

"You're right," Carson said, easing back into his chair. "How could he think I would represent him after the hell he put Nancy through? She's still suffering!"

"I know," B.D. said. "But maybe you can help us finally get him to talk. We need this confession, Carson, and you may be our only hope. Make him believe that you'll represent him."

Carson slowly shook his head. "That could get me disbarred," he said.

"I thought of that," B.D. said, nodding his head. "But you really wouldn't be going against it since you really won't be representing him."

Carson was very hesitant. After all, he had built a very reputable law firm that he was very proud of. If he did this, he would be risking a career that he had worked so hard for.

B.D. saw his reluctance and said quietly, "Do this for Nancy, Carson. Let her finally put all of this behind her and move on."

That's all the convincing that Carson needed. He would do anything for his daughter and everyone knew that. B.D. was playing Carson's weakest hand, and while it angered him a little, he also knew that B.D. was right. Nancy did need to move on and put Dominic Shepard behind her.

"He'll want to meet with me," Carson said. "Alone."

B.D. nodded and stood up. "Thank you, Carson."

"I'm not doing this for you, Lieutenant," Carson said. "I'm doing this for my daughter."

"That's all I'd ever ask," B.D. said.

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Dom looked up from where he was lying on his cot at the sound of the approaching footsteps. Maybe Lieutenant Hawkins is a lot more resourceful than I thought…

He smiled when he saw Hawkins and Carson Drew stop before his cell.

"I have to admit, Lieutenant, I didn't think you would come through," Dom said. "Actually, you may say that I'm even surprised."

"You said you would talk if I came," Carson said. "So, talk."

Dom smiled at Carson. "Don't you think we should have a private meeting first?' he asked. "After all, I'd hate to say something to the police that may incriminate me."

"Fine," Carson said. "Lieutenant, do you have a room that we may use?"

B.D. nodded. "Sure. Out of here, first door to the left."

Carson didn't say anything, but started towards the room that B.D. indicated. B.D. pulled out a set of keys and unlocked the cell door. He then pulled out a pair of shiny handcuffs and restrained Dom's hands in front of him. He grabbed Dom just above the elbow and led his to the room where Carson was waiting, briefcase open.

B.D. sat Dom in the chair opposite Carson. "I'll have one of my officers out here. Yell when you're finished."

Carson nodded and turned his attention to Dom. He was having a very hard time keeping his composure and Dom knew that. It even gave him a tiny thrill that he could have this much of an affect on River Heights' most brilliant lawyer.

"So…how's Nancy?" Dom asked.

Carson slammed his briefcase shut with a loud clang. "Don't you dare say my daughter's name!"

"I thought that would strike a nerve," Dom said with a chilling smile.

"I am not here for you," Carson hissed. "I am here as a favor to Lieutenant Hawkins. I think you should know that I still haven't agreed to represent you and it will be a cold day in hell before I agree to."

Dom seemed amused by this. "Well, grab a coat, Mr. Drew. I have a feeling it's about to get very chilly."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Carson asked.

"It means, you're going to represent me whether you like it or not," Dom said. "And you're going to win the case."

"Go to hell," Carson said, standing up from the table.

"I've been there," Dom said. "It's a very roomy place."

Carson seemed to finally lose his temper. He grabbed Dom by his orange jumpsuit and pushed him against the wall. All the while, Dom was laughing.

"You put my daughter through a living nightmare!" he whispered fiercely. "If you think I'm going to let you do it to her again, you are sadly mistaken! Find yourself another lawyer!"

Dom chuckled. "If you think what I did to her while I was out there was bad, you just wait and see what I can do to her from in here."

All the color drained from Carson's face and he let go of Dom just as the officer poked his head in. "Is everything all right?" the officer asked.

Carson nodded his head, while still staring at Dom in horror. The officer didn't seem convinced, but ducked back out and closed the door anyway.

"You can't touch her," Carson whispered.

"You're right—I can't," Dom said. "But there are other people out there that are just dying to get their turn with her. One word from me, and what I did to Nancy would look like a tiny little scratch compared to what they could do to her."

Carson breathing became labored. Nancy, he thought. I can't let him do that to her. I can't lose my little girl.

"So, what do you say, Carson?" Dom asked. "Do you really want to risk your daughter's life in order to keep your pride?"

"I'll do it," Carson said, softly.

"I'm sorry…I didn't quite catch that," Dom said, bringing his cuffed hands to his ear.

"I'll do it," Carson said a little louder.

"That's what I thought you would say," Dom said. "Now, I know this is going to very hard on your relationship with Nancy, but wouldn't you rather have a strained relationship than a funeral for your little girl?"

Carson looked at Dom as if he had slapped him. "You son of a bitch," Carson said, seething.

Dom smiled at him. "Yes, actually I am. Now I think you should get home and tell Nancy the good news. We'll worry about giving my statement to the police tomorrow."

Carson said nothing as he packed up his briefcase. As he was going to the door, Dom said one more thing.

"Oh, by the way," he said, reaching down into a pocket of the jumpsuit. He pulled out a sheet of paper and handed it to Carson. "Give this to Nancy."

"You have got to be getting," Carson said. "Don't you think you're putting her through enough?"

"I just want her to know I'm thinking about her," Dom said. He forced the note into Carson's hand and smiled. "I think this is going to turn out to be very interesting."

Carson turned away and knocked on the door. The officer unlocked the door and grabbed Dom by the elbow to take him back to his cell. Carson walked out of the room to see B.D. standing there, waiting.

"Well?" B.D. asked. "Did he say anything?"

"He'll talk to you tomorrow," Carson said. He cleared his throat to clear the bile that had risen in it. "As of right now, I'm his lawyer."

Carson didn't stick around to see B.D.'s expression or hear what he had to say. The only thing he wanted to do now was get home and figure out some way to tell Nancy that he had just betrayed her in the worst way he knew how.

In the morning, he told himself. Allow her to have at least one more night of peace before you shatter her already fragile world.

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Author's Note: Well, I saw that some of you were happy that I now have the sequel started. I am so glad that so many of you like Dom…he is such a fun character to write! Now, let me say before anything that some of the things in this may not make sense. This is an alternate universe story, so I have my own set of laws. While it may not be possible for Carson to really represent Dom because of conflict of interest, in my world he is able to. After all, this is fiction, so a little leeway is allowed.

As always, I enjoy feedback, so I ask that you leave it especially if you are taking the time to read this. As I have said before, feedback really help me progress with my story and it helps me know which direction to take my story. SO PLEASE REVIEW! (By the way, I don't mind if you critique my story…I always allow honesty in reviews because I think you would be doing me a disservice if you are being nice about it just to avoid hurting my feelings.)

Anyway, thanks to the few that did review! I really appreciate it andam happy that you are loving this so far! I'll try to update soon, but I'm kind of sick right now, so it may be a few days before I can update!