Trinidad Lafferty

“This is your last chance, and I mean it. Now get me to my ship,’ he told the device. A moment later he vanished from the Grand Plaza, and the mayhem that still continued unabated.”
― A.R. Merrydew, Inara

“The Lord Steward summoned Lord James to his study. Joining
them were Lord Nimrod, the Consort, and Judith, who stood beside
the Consort and stared out the window. A winter sunrise streaked the
sky with pink-and-gold light. Judith wrestled with her anguish. This is
probably Helen’s last sunrise, and she’s no doubt in some stinking hole and
cannot even see it.
Lord James paid little heed to anyone else. All he saw was Miriam’s
face, her green eyes harsh with accusation. All he heard were her pleas.
Do something, James. Save her. Don’t let her die.
Thinking he had everyone’s attention, Shinar got to the point. “It
seems you have a daughter, James.”
― Candace L. Talmadge, Stoneslayer: Book One Scandal

“When she entered the sitting room she was not at first noticed. The music had changed now, to something slower, and the women were dancing; Harri’s dark head against the breast of Gwen’s white shirt, Gwen’s hand low on Harri’s back. Gwen’s eyes were closed and the look on her face, serene and blissful, sent a fright through Clem.”
― Lesley Glaister, Blasted Things

“But he is dying faster than he should. The better a man is at business, the worse in retirement.”
― Pat Frank, Alas, Babylon