Page 73 of The System

A few seconds later, Dylan appeared around a corner with a beer bottle in hand.

“Hey. I’m glad you came,” she said.

“She did. And she happened to bring Carina’s favorite wine with her.” Ada passed Dylan the bottle. “I’m going to mingle.” She kissed Dylan on the cheek and walked toward wherever the noise was coming from.

“So, that’s your wife, huh?” Kieran said with a small laugh.

“She’s an acquired taste,” Dylan joked. “Didn’t take me long to just give in to her, but for others, it does. She’s amazing, though, and even after all these years, I’m still totally into her.”

“Well, you watch porn together, so that makes sense.”

Dylan laughed and said, “Come on. I’ll introduce you to a couple of friends I was just talking to.” She set the wine on the table by the door and motioned for Kieran to join her.

They turned left and entered the living room, where four or five women were standing around, talking, while a couple were sitting on the sofa, doing the same, but Kieran was disappointed that Carina wasn’t one of them.

“Kieran, this is Hollis and her fiancée, Raleigh,” Dylan introduced.

“Hi. Kieran,” she said, holding out her hand for Hollis to shake first.

“Nice to meet you,” Hollis replied.

“You too,” Kieran said and shook Raleigh’s hand next.

“So, how do you know Dylan and Ada?” Raleigh asked.

“Well, she arrested my twin sister after suspecting that I might be her and committed the crime they’re accusing my sister of, so there’s that.” Kieran looked over at Dylan, who shrugged.

“Oh, shit,” Hollis said.

“Yeah…” Kieran replied.

“And you still came to her party?” Raleigh asked, glancing at Dylan.

“She seems like a nice person,” Kieran offered. “And I can’t help but trust her. It’s weird.”

Dylan shook her head.

“Not really. We trust her, too,” Hollis shared. “Long story, but while I don’t have a twin for Dylan to arrest, I know her because of a crime committed by a family member.”

“Our daughter was kidnapped,” Raleigh added. “A couple of years ago. Dylan found her.”

“Oh, she told me about you two. I almost forgot. Your daughter’s okay, right?”

“She’s fine, yes. She’s going to be the flower girl for our wedding next year,” Raleigh said as she pulled Hollis into her side.

“Congratulations,” Kieran said to both of them.

Then, out of the corner of her eye, she caught sight of blonde hair pulled back into a clip, and she knew.

“She’s heading to the kitchen. Go talk to her,” Dylan said.

“Will you two please excuse me? I need to talk to someone.”

Kieran felt bad about fleeing mid-conversation, but she needed to at least see Carina.

“Grab the wine. It’ll help,” Dylan suggested.

Kieran nodded, walked back over to the table by the front door, grabbed the bottle, and headed toward where she’d seen Carina walking. In the kitchen, she saw Carina standing at the island, looking down at some of the food trays with vegetables and fruit on offer.

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