Page 16 of The System

“No,” Kieran replied.

“A man walks into a bar with his pet alligator and asks the bartender if he serves lawyers there. The bartender says yes, so the man says, ‘Good. Give me a beer, and I’ll have a lawyer for my gator,’ Not bad, huh?” the woman asked.

Kieran hadn’t heard that one before, and it was a little funny, at least, but she didn’t laugh.

“What did you say your name was, again?”

“Carina Whitlock.”

“I’ll text that to my defense-attorney ex-husband, who will be representing my sister. He’ll reach out to you for any questions you have for me.”

“Miss Hart, you’re not a suspect or a person of interest.”

“I’m not even a witness,” Kieran countered.

“God, you should have been a lawyer,” Carina said, laughing. “You’re not a witness, no. But I’m a very thorough prosecutor, and any good defense attorney is going to use your matching DNA against me at trial. They’ll say that you did this, and there’s no way to prove that you didn’t, which gives the jury reasonable doubt. So, I’ll need to talk to you prior to this going much further. You’re welcome to have your attorney present when we chat; that’s fine with me. You should keep in mind, though, that if your ex-husband is going to represent your sister, it could create a conflict of interest for him, in this case, representing your interests in our chats. He’s required by law to ensure he does everything legally and ethically possible to represent your sister, which could mean accusing you of this crime.”

“Diego wouldn’t do that,” Kieran argued.

“He wouldn’t have a choice,” Carina replied. “If you don’t want to talk here, we don’t have to. I know I just showed up on you. But we’ll need to talk. If you prefer my office, we can do this there.”

Kieran watched her bend down for a second before she felt something against her big toe. She looked down and stepped back, finding a business card at her feet. Carina had slid it under the door.

“Here’s my information. Tomorrow would be good for me since things are moving pretty fast here after more than eight years of waiting. Have a good rest of your day, Miss Hart.”

“Kieran,” she corrected, staring at the door.

“Kieran. Call me Carina,” the woman told her. “I hope to see you tomorrow.”

When Kieran looked through the peephole again, Carina was gone.

CHAPTER 7

“You’re up early,” Tinley said as she walked into the kitchen after her workout in Carina’s in-home gym.

Well, calling it an in-home gym was a bit of a stretch. She had a three-bedroom house and used one room as an office and the other as the guest room with a treadmill and elliptical machine. Calling it a guest room was also a stretch then because, outside of her gym equipment, it only had a double bed in it and a TV mounted to the wall. She hadn’t intended on making it a guest room at all. Her living room also had a pull-out sofa, if needed, and Carina had so few guests that she had long decided that any guests could always sleep on that in her starter home and that when she eventually met someone whom she wanted to buy a house with, they could ensure then that they had enough space for guests and a real gym.

When she and Tinley had decided to move in together, though, Tinley had also come with her bed and some extra furniture that they hadn’t been sure what to do with. Some of that furniture was still in Carina’s half-basement, and the bed, they’d put in the gym because Carina hadn’t finished the gym yet. As much as she’d wanted to add a spot for her to do some yoga on the mornings when she woke early, like today, having Tinley suggest putting the bed there had turned out to be a good idea. They’d been together for about fourteen months, moving in together after twelve of those months and breaking up only two months later. Tinley hadn’t had a place to move into, so she’d slept in said guest room with the intention of finding an apartment.

That had been three months ago, and Carina’s patience was starting to wear thin. She’d been trying to keep things civil, but Tinley hadn’t paid for much when they’d been together, and she still wasn’t paying for much now. That included rent, utilities, and even groceries. Sure, the woman would buy the stuff she liked occasionally, but she ate the super healthy food that had no flavor to Carina, knowing Carina wouldn’t eat it. While Carina tried to be healthy, her job made it difficult for her to eat right and work out. Yes, that was an excuse, but she’d bought the gym equipment with the intention of using it at some point. That had to count for something, right?

As Tinley opened the refrigerator door to pull out the grapefruit juice with no pulp that she liked, Carina ran her eyes over her ex’s body. They hadn’t had sex since their breakup, but damn, Carina now wished she’d gone to the bar for a night with Jessa the other day because she was definitely in need of something by someone else’s hand, and Tinley was sexy as hell. She always had been. Hating that she’d been the older woman to fall for the woman in her mid-twenties when she should’ve known better, Carina had still given in. But while their year or so together had been a good one in a lot of ways, they were not meant to last.

“See something you like?” Tinley asked, turning just in time to see Carina objectifying her.

“Yes. Grapefruit juice,” she replied before moving her eyes back to the laptop in front of her. “And I’m up at my normal time. I just came down here to read with my coffee before I head into the office.”

“I’m going to hop in the shower. I can use yours for better water pressure, and you could join me, if you want,” Tinley offered as she poured her juice.

“I’m dressed for work, Tin.”

“And that’s the only reason?”

“No,” Carina replied, looking back up. “I’m also not interested.”

“Are you sure? You were giving me your sex eyes just a minute ago. I know that look.”

“Yes, I was. You’re very sexy. And you already know that I think so. That’s no secret to you.”

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