Ally almost seemed concerned. When she'd asked what Camila's plans for the weekend were, she did not anticipate Camila's response to be "research".

"Research for what?"

"The Jauregui's." Camila said simply. They were hanging out in Camila's apartment after their Friday shift.

"This has become an obsession Mila."

"Thought you said you were my partner?" Camila pouted. Ally grinned and sipped her beer.

"I am. And as your partner I'm saying, honey, you have an obsession." Ally laughed as a small pillow smacked into her face and Camila's pout turned into a scowl.

"I just want their criminal asses in prison."

"Uh huh, sounds like an excuse to see a certain green eyed heiress." Ally snickered.

"Heiress?"

"Charlie mentioned that there was talk on the street, Lauren's next in line to be boss. Not her brother." Ally explained with a raised eyebrow. "Somehow you've got attached to the heir of the Jauregui crime family."

"I am not attached." Camila deadpanned.

"Right, and that's not a wall soon to be filled with research." Ally said, nodding to the new cork board hanging behind the sofa.

"Shut up." Camila mumbled, hiding a smile behind her beer bottle.

----

"You are so lucky I won't tell your father about that." Lucy said with an unamused smile. Lauren winced as she unlocked her apartment.

"I'm sorry for dragging you over here." Lauren mumbled as they entered, Dinah and Normani already lounging on her sofa.

"I have a penthouse in Manhattan, and yet I spend most of my time in Brooklyn saving your ass." Lucy said airily, waving to Dinah and Normani before turning to Lauren.

"I know, and I appreciate it. A lot." Lauren said, making sure to look Lucy in the eyes as she did so.

"You better. If you're not careful your dad will get tired of it and I won't be able to help you Laur." Lucy said softly. "He did it with Chris and trust me, he'll do it with you too."

Lauren frowned, she'd always wondered why Chris got busted a few years back. She assumed he'd got too sloppy that even Lucy couldn't bail him out. She'd never questioned why he had a different lawyer at his release hearing.

"Got it." Lauren mumbled.

"Stay away from that cop. And keep it in your pants Jauregui." Lucy said, pressing a lingering kiss to Lauren's cheek before heading out.

"God when will you two just fuck and get it over with?" Dinah groaned. Lauren felt her cheeks heat up and she cleared her throat.

"So we're not talking about how I got busted?"

"Oh my god you two totally hooked up didn't you!" Normani cackled as Dinah handed her ten bucks.

"It was ages ago. And not what we're going to discuss." Lauren mumbled, grabbing herself a glass of whiskey before joining them in her living room.

"Cabello got you right?" Dinah said with a smirk.

"That girl can run, I'll give her that." Lauren sighed. Normani and Dinah exchanged a glance.

"Sure you didn't... slow down a little on purpose?"

"What? No." Lauren scoffed.

"Well we drove past your ass just as she slapped the cuffs on you, and seeing you bent over a car was more imagery than I ever needed in your relationship." Normani burst out laughing and sent Dinah into giggles as well.

Lauren downed her whiskey.

"You guys suck."

"Lucy is right though. We're not kids anymore Lauser." Dinah said, wiping at the corners of her eyes.

"So more elaborate schemes?"

"How do you miss the point so successfully?" Dinah sighed. "No Laur, you can't get busted now. Not when your old man is so close to retiring."

"I mean what would be the harm? Dad has to stay in charge a couple extra years?" Lauren shrugged, running her finger around the rim of her empty tumbler.

"Laur, he'd straight up give it to someone else." Normani said, a serious look passing over her face.

"What?"

"Why do you think Chris didn't get his chance to shape up? He got busted on a drug charge and suddenly was not a clean member of society." Normani said gently. "Your dad's after a clean slate for his heir."

Lauren fell silent. She thought she'd been the obvious choice. Chris had never shown interest in taking over, he just liked using Lucy to make his charges disappear. He'd been having fun.

But being part of a crime family wasn't about fun, it was about power. And money. And sex. Like everything was.

"He's going to question if you even want to be in charge at some point." Dinah said quietly.

"Of course I do." Lauren replied with a frown.

"Then I think we need to shape up and lay low until your dad retires." Dinah sighed.

Lauren groaned and let her head fall back.

"God that sounds so boring." She whined.

"Fuckin' preach."

----

A couple days later, there was a knock on Lauren's apartment door. Dinah and Normani were passed out on the sofa and Lauren blinked herself awake at the persistent pounding.

"I'm comin'." Lauren grumbled, tugging on her sleep shorts and readjusting her tank top.

She yanked open the door and was faced with blue uniforms. "You can't arrest me for sleeping in my own apartment." Lauren said around a yawn as she looked up at familiar faces.

"You forgot to sign some papers." Camila said bluntly. "Can we come in?"

Lauren narrowed her eyes and peered out into the hallway; it was just the two of them. Lauren stepped back and the officers wandered into her apartment.

"Gimme the stuff and show me where to sign so I can go back to sleep." Lauren grumbled.

"Are you always this pleasant?" Camila drawled, handing her the papers. Lauren leaned on her kitchen counter and signed halfheartedly wherever Camila pointed to.

It was over in a few minutes but Lauren felt her tiredness seeping back into her bones. It'd been a long few days of doing jack shit.

"Thanks." Camila said tightly, a light pink dusting her cheeks.

"Did you have to be here so early?" Lauren complained as she walked to two officers to the door.

"First item on the agenda." Ally said politely, smiling at Lauren. Lauren couldn't stop herself smiling back.

"Second was arresting you. So anything you want to confess?" Camila said, folding her arms over her chest.

Lauren's lips twitched into a smile.

"That I stole your heart." Lauren said, batting her eyelashes and clutching her hands over her heart.

"In your dreams Jauregui." Camila rolled her eyes and Lauren moved to close the door.

"How'd you know?" Lauren shut the door before Camila could reply. Lauren laughed as she heard Camila grumbling and Ally's teasing.

----

"Don't act like you didn't spend five minutes staring at her ass Cabello." Ally laughed as they walked down the street.

"I did not." Camila said staunchly.

"You did too. Don't blame you though." Ally shrugged.

"Aren't you straight?"

"Not blind." Ally said breezily.

----

Camila had been staring at the file open in front of her for an hour.

"Stare much harder and you'll set it alight Cabello." Camila startled and looked up at Diaz.

"Huh?"

"You ready to go?" Camila looked at her blankly. "Meeting's tonight?"

"Oh fuck, the gay thing. Shit yeah, I'll just pack up and we can go." Camila mumbled.

"Want to talk about it?" Diaz nodded towards the file as Camila closed it.

"It's just a personal interest." Camila paused at Diaz's expectant face. "I'm interested in Jauregui's case."

"Senior or the Juniors?" Diaz asked as Camila closed her bag up.

"Both." Camila sighed. "I just don't understand how nothing sticks at the moment."

"Their lawyer is very good at finding loopholes and cheap ways out of things." Diaz said sourly. "She's the best defence lawyer in the city."

The pair of them ducked into Camila's car and started out of the parking lot.

"But nothing? Like not even a parking ticket?"

"They just pay those, with interest to get them out the system." Diaz shrugged.

"That's... not right." Camila frowned.

"No. It's not. Every cop who's said anything tends to get put in records, fired politely or straight up disappears." Diaz said darkly. Camila gulped; maybe she was in too far over her head.

"Do you think-"

"No. You'll do fine. You've got drive. That's all you need to get someone." Diaz interrupted. "And evidence."

Camila cracked a smile at that.

----

The board in Camila's apartment was filling up rapidly; except all of it was mostly about Mike Jauregui.

How he'd started the rise to crime in his teen years. How his wife was initially part of a different gang but had ditched them for him. How he'd then subsequently destroyed the other gang when they tried to come after her.

How everyone assumed Chris would be the heir, even though he was their second child, but when he got busted for being a coke dealer before his sixteenth birthday, his dad wasn't there to help him out.

How Taylor dipped out of the family quickly, staying away from the cops and her father's business ventures. Staying in high school and doing well, heading to college out of state as soon as she graduated.

How word on the street was becoming more and more about the soon-to-occur change of power.

Then there was Lucy Vives; childhood friend of Lauren Jauregui who skipped a few grades, graduated high school early and went straight into law school. Only to emerge a few years later and land a job at Cowell and Lovato law firm.

She was also the Jauregui's go to lawyer, famous for getting them out of sticky situations. There was also a rumour on the streets that she had a soft spot for Lauren still.

Camila assumed the churn in her gut at that information was from anger at the way she always got Lauren off... in the lawyer sense.

Camila groaned and ran her hands through her hair as she stared at the board, it was dark outside and the steady sounds of sirens and honking was echoing across the city.

The most she'd found about Lauren was the names of her two friends; Dinah and Normani. Also childhood friends, but not from other crime families. Just... two women who got caught up in the life at a young age.

Nothing was going to be added tonight.

She lay in bed, her mind whirring away. It'd been the first night she'd stayed at home in a good week and a half. Her other nights had been filled with stakeouts, she'd seen enough TV shows to know how it worked; take pictures and notes and sit around bored out of your mind.

Ally had joined her for some nights. Not yet deterring Camila's investigations.

She'd also spotted the plain clothed detectives watching Jauregui instantly.

No doubt they'd spotted her too. Hopefully they'd run her plates and find out who she was before they added her to the watch list.

Tomorrow she'd add her photos to the board. Then she'd study them until her eyes fell out of her head.

Nothing was going to get in her way.

And if she dreamt of green eyes, smug smiles and tight shorts, well that was neither here nor there.