Page 363 of Lodestar

He gritted his teeth when I didn’t let up, but he didn’t shove my hand away, didn’t try to stop me. “I’m positive. 100%. I watched her pass.”

The nurse from earlier tried to rush in, but Conor blocked her as he reasoned softly, “Star.”

Disregarding his warning, I maintained my stare into Dagda’s eyes. Not relenting until I was certain he wasn’t bullshitting me.

Only then did I pull back.

“You’ve no idea why Jorgmundgander targeted her?”

“I wasn’t in on the decision-making process,” he rasped, gaze darting to his blanket-covered knees. “I was a tool. Nothing more.”

Blood-stained hand held high, I retreated. I grabbed the corner of his bedsheet as the nurse busied herself around him, glowering at me as she ministered to her patient while I wiped the blood onto his coverings.

“Though I promised your niece that I wouldn’t kill you—” The nurse gasped but I ignored her. “—if I leave this room and find out youhavelied to me, I won’t be afraid to break that promise. Understood?”

His nostrils flared, further exposing the tubes that supplied him with oxygen. “Understood," he croaked. "I’m an ally now. We’re on the same goddamn side.”

“So long as you remember that, we’re good.”

He dipped his chin as I made my way to the cube’s point of entry.

Once I left the sterile environment, I breathed a little easier, turning on my heel to study the mall and its many,manysecurityrisks.

“You didn’t have a better place to hospitalize him?”

Conor shrugged at my question. “No idea. Finn tends to be the one who deals with this.”

“Why Finn?”

“He’s the money man. You think this shit comes cheap?”

I thought about the equipment they used, never mind the medical care they’d require. “True.” I studied a movie poster from two years ago. “You didn’t approve of my methods.”

He arched a brow. “Killing him at that point would have served no purpose. I was just warning you to pull back before you took it too far.”

I shoved my hands into my pockets as I twisted around to look at him. “You’re a spy’s perfect boyfriend, aren’t you?”

A sparkle lit up his tired eyes. “I’ve been called many things in my time, but not that.”

“Remind me to get you a mug made up with it for Christmas then, hmm?”

His grin hit me in all the good places, places that only existed because of him.

When he pressed his lips to mine in a quick peck, I laughed as he mumbled against my mouth, “I’ll remind you. Don’t worry.”

23

STAR

THE FOLLOWING DAY

“Good job, Vana,”I muttered under my breath as I took in the selection of headlines in front of me.

Peering over my shoulder, Conor picked up one of the papers that declared:

Nevada senator claims leaked footage is a deep fake.

“I wish it didn’t smack of kink shaming.”

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