The Magistrate (The Prisonworld Trilogy) by Keira Michelle Telford

Author:Keira Michelle Telford [Telford, Keira Michelle]
Language: eng
Format: azw3, mobi
Publisher: Venatic Press
Published: 2013-11-20T08:00:00+00:00

« XXIII »

Carmen, dressed in her kicksies and a fresh black camisole—showered, but still not clean—opens the front door following a round of quiet knocks, and is flooded with relief and concern when she sees Lina standing on her doorstep.

Relief that it’s not Gobshite on the hunt for a second helping, and concern that Lina traversed the Square Mile at such an hour.

“Shit. What the hell are you doing here?” Carmen drags her inside. “Have you completely lost your marbles?!”

“I had to see you.”

“You crossed the Square Mile after curfew. What’s so bloody important that it couldn’t wait until morning? And how do you know where I live?”

Lina shrugs an eyebrow and looks coy, cocking her head and batting her eyelashes.

Carmen frowns at her. “You picked my pocket.”

Lina looks mildly repentant. “Old habits die hard.”

“When? I mean, how did you … ?”

“I saw the outline of your Authenticard in your back pocket when you walked into my house yesterday.”

“You were staring at my bum?”

Lina flashes her a mischievous little smile, following her into the living room. “Like I said: old habits. I lifted it while I was consoling you, then I put it right back.”

“Why?”

“I couldn’t bear the thought of you disappearing into the night without a trace again. I wanted to know where you were.”

“You could’ve just asked.”

“You might not have told me.”

“Why wouldn’t I?” Carmen offers Lina a seat on the sofa.

“Well, until your rather unexpected reappearance in my sphere of existence, you hadn’t exactly been wearing out my doorbell with visits. I could scarcely dare to hope that your return might be anything more than a passing streak of curiosity for a life you left behind long ago.”

“I didn’t leave it behind, I was dragged away from it. Kicking and screaming as I recall.” Carmen plonks down beside her. “Not a day’s gone by since that I haven’t thought of you.”

“Then why did you stay away so long?”

“What reason do you suspect?”

Lina fidgets with her hands, picking at a chip of nail polish on one of her thumbs. “It had occurred to me that perhaps you might’ve outgrown me.”

“So it turns out that you and I are both equally foolish.” Carmen places her hand over Lina’s, forcing her to stop her nervous fiddling. “I had the same fear all these years.”

Lina conceals a flush of color to her cheeks by turning her head. “It was never about your age. Believe me when I say that your youth was a hindrance, not an asset.”

“That’s not the case now, though, is it?” Carmen repositions closer. “Nothing can keep me away from you, Lina. Not anymore.”

Preparing for a kiss, she leans forward and caresses Lina’s cheek, building up the courage to make the necessary move on her—to do what she wishes she’d done in the haven. What reason is there not to? Her relationship with Eleri is over—albeit freshly—and she wants to erase Gobshite from her mind.

To that end, she trails her thumb over Lina’s mouth, teasing her crimson lips apart.

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