Page 109 of Carbon

“So you joined the legion?”

Ben gave a hollow laugh. “Legio patria nostra. Or at least until they fucked me over as well.”

“We’ll help with that.”

“And with my sister. We had a deal. I can’t sleep properly at night from worrying about what happened to her. I don’t even know if she’s alive or dead.”

I longed to tell him, but I didn’t dare to interrupt Black. He was a man who liked to be in complete control, that much was obvious.

At least he didn’t keep Ben waiting long. “She’s alive.”

“What?” Ben went rigid as he stared at Black. “You know about Sofia? You know where she is?”

“I didn’t come to England to help you. I came to help her. When Augusta’s father hired Blackwood, your DNA tripped a flag in our system.”

“Where is she?” Ben’s voice shook with emotion. “Please, tell me where she is.”

“Right here,” Emmy said.

Time slowed down as Ben swung around to face her and Sofia.

“Ben, meet Sofia.”

“Are you serious?”

Emmy nodded.

Ben stood slowly, as did Sofia, and before I could blink he had her in his arms, squeezing until she thumped him on the back to let go.

Even then, he didn’t release her, just leaned back to get a better look.

“I don’t... I can’t... I’ve got no idea what to say,” he muttered, and then both of them were crying.

Xav wandered in and took in the scene. “Someone told him, then?”

“Nah, Fia choked on a gummy bear and Ben’s busy fucking up the Heimlich manoeuvre,” Emmy said.

Xav gallantly raised his middle finger. “Fia, what’s with all the tears? Isn’t this supposed to be a happy thing?”

That earned him the bird as well. After a few minutes, during which Mika’s “Happy Ending” played on repeat in my head, they finally loosened their hold on each other, and I scooched over on the sofa to give them both room to sit down. Ben kept one arm across Sofia’s shoulders and tucked the other one back around my waist where it belonged.

“I can’t believe it. The two girls I wanted most in my life, and they’re both here with me.”

“I’m not sure whether this is a champagne moment or not,” Emmy said, looking at me. “It hasn’t been an easy road to get here.”

She was right; it hadn’t. But if Angie were still here, I liked to think she’d have put her party frock on. And with all the difficulties surely still to come, I felt it was important to celebrate the small victories.

“Perhaps just one bottle?”

She raised an eyebrow at Xav. “Would you mind?”

He gave a brief nod and slipped out of the room. Ben couldn’t take his eyes off Sofia, and when I studied them both together, I saw the similarities. Their dark hair. The colour of their eyes. The shape of their mouths. There were differences too—Ben’s nose was straight while Sofia’s had a cute little ski jump at the end, and Ben’s jaw was a little squarer.

“I’ve finally found you,” Ben whispered. “Tell me I’m not dreaming this.”

“I’m really here,” Sofia said, her voice croaky. “I’ve been terrified for the past few days in case Leroux got to you before we could. Emmy’s sorry she shot you, by the way.”

“I am?” Emmy asked. “Oh, yeah, right. I’m sorry I shot you. Look on the bright side—at least I didn’t use a real bullet.”

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