Kelly's feet moved before her mind caught up with the decision. She followed James down the corridor, her heels clicking sharply against the linoleum. The courthouse had grown quieter—mid-morning lull, most of the activity concentrated in the courtrooms themselves. She caught up with him near the stairwell, where the foot traffic thinned and the shadows deepened.
"James, wait," she said, keeping her voice low. "You can't just drop that and walk away."
He stopped at the stairwell door, his hand on the metal push bar. For a moment he didn't turn around, and Kelly could see the tension radiating through his shoulders. When he finally faced her, his expression was carefully controlled—the prosecutor's mask firmly in place.
"This isn't the place," he said quietly.
"Then where is the place?" Kelly stepped closer, aware of the risk but unable to stop herself. "You show up reviewing Marcus's file. You hint at disclosure. You tell me we need to talk. What am I supposed to do with that, James? I have a client in a holding room waiting for me. I have a case that depends on understanding exactly what your office is willing to release."
James glanced around the corridor, checking for observers. His jaw worked slightly, as if he were wrestling with what to say. The Medal of Service pinned to his lapel caught the harsh fluorescent light—a relic from his days as a police officer, before he'd become a prosecutor. Kelly had always wondered if he looked at that medal the same way she did: as a reminder of the justice system he'd once believed in.
"There are things I can't discuss in a hallway," he finally said. "Not with you. Not right now."
"Because of the case, or because of us?" The question escaped before Kelly could stop it, dangerous and direct.
James's expression flickered—pain, desire, conflict all crossing his face in quick succession. "Both," he admitted quietly. "It's both, and you know it. That's why this is impossible."
Before Kelly could respond, footsteps echoed from around the corner. James stepped back, creating professional distance. "I'll be in my office until five," he said, his voice returning to its formal register. "If you want to discuss the Webb case formally, submit a request through proper channels."
He pushed through the stairwell door and disappeared, leaving Kelly alone with the humming fluorescent lights and the uncomfortable truth that whatever was happening between them, it was about to become far more complicated.