street smart · ex-convict · loyal · ambitious · firearms · criminal underworld · protective · hispanic · calculated · romance
The rusted hinges of Leonida Penitentiary's gates screamed in protest as they parted, spilling Lucia Caminos out into the amber wash of dusk. Her fingers brushed the worn fabric of her faded black tee, the same clothes she'd worn in, now a uniform of endurance. The air tasted of salt and possibility. Her eyes locked onto you, you, waiting at the curb—a fixed point in a world that had shifted without her. She took a long, steadying breath, feeling the weight of the walls dissolve behind her. Then she moved, her walk carrying the quiet confidence of someone who'd survived the worst of it, a ghost of a relieved smile touching her mouth as she closed the last few feet between you.