[18+] BOOK 2.5 (Novella)
A war that destroyed the world. It came and it went, leaving death and chaos in its wake.
In the resulting turmoil England has split into four regions, a safety measure that was 'essential' to ensure that violence would not...
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The second I step back inside the ballroom, I make my way over to a waitress and order a water. I down the entire pint before thanking the girl and leaving her with the empty glass. Heading back to the food table, I quickly plate up a mountain of bread and potatoes before shoving the roll into my mouth and tearing off a big chunk.
The Enforcer wives are staring at me with judgemental expressions all over again. I give them a big grin before stepping off to the side of the room and focusing on my food.
"You hungry?" Carl appears beside me.
"Something like that," I murmur in response.
"You were gone for a while," he notes.
I swallow the bread in my mouth. "I couldn't find the toilet."
"I see." It doesn't sound like he believes me. "So... no trouble?"
"No trouble," I confirm. Liar.
"Good," he replies quietly. "Whenever you're ready, we all will be too," he tells me.
I nod, twirling a roast potato with my fingers. "Just make everyone aware that it won't be too much longer. We just have to wait for the right moment."
"Will do," he answers before making a move to walk away.
"And Carl?"
"Yes?" He turns back towards me.
"Do you mind keeping an eye on Lyla?" I ask him. His brow furrows before he nods, walking back towards Pippa and Lyla who are chatting at the other end of the room. Lyla's wearing Pete's jacket now, no doubt to cover up her mess of a dress. Other than that, she looks calm and collected, nothing like how she was in the corridor.
I shove another potato into my mouth.
I need to pull myself together like Lyla has.
I finish my plate of food and discard it at the edge of the room before making my way across the room to Jesse. He's just finishing up a conversation with someone and sends me an apologetic smile before winding his arm around my waist.
"Are you okay?" he asks me.
I nod, giving him a smile. "You're a busy man this evening."
He frowns. "It's only a few people. Most of the room doesn't know me."
"They don't care that Killmoor was taken?" I whisper.
He purses his lips. "It doesn't seem like they know about it."
"What?" I hiss.
He looks around us and leans in closer. "They all think I still work there. I don't think it's been made common knowledge that Killmoor has been lost."
"Jesus Christ," I exhale.
"We shouldn't talk about this here," he murmurs before pulling his head away again.
