Page 272 of Lodestar

“How are you fuckers my brothers and don’t watch any of those movies?”

“I’ve seen a couple. I’m just not a nerd like you.” Ignoring my scoff, Finn drawled, “I’m not surprised though. Ever since Eoghan told me he worked for MI6, I knew he was involved in crazy stuff. It explains why his PTSD gets worse even though we thought he was out of action.”

“Yeah, I guess it does. The pressure doesn’t relent.” I blinked. “I wish…”

Finn took a sip of his scotch. “What do you wish, Kid?”

“That he’d had other options. That he’d never gotten into this shit. That he could have been a fucking teacher if he wanted or a goddamn chef.”

“That’s on Da,” he rumbled, his gaze on the amber liquid in his glass.

“It was. What are you going to do about Jake?”

“Give him options.”

“The Five Points will die out without an O’Donnelly at the head…”

He snorted. “If you think any offspring of Savannah O’Donnelly isn’t going to love the mob as much as she does, you’re mistaken.”

“Fair point,” I agreed with a laugh, and it was so fair that it put an end to that subject. “Thanks for letting Kat and Star stay the night, Finn.”

Waving a hand, he dismissed, “Of course. You’re welcome to stay longer if you’d like.”

“I’m not sure what our next moves are, to be honest. I thought this was a pit stop but now I’m not so sure if she wants to take Foundry and Smythe out.”

“The offer’s there. You can stay here or at your penthouse. You have choices.” He studied me over his glass. “You trust the United Brotherhood, Conor?”

“I don’t trust anything that sits in the shadows and has so much control over the world.But, I think Kuznetsov means well, even if he makes mistakes.”

“What’s insane to me is how he let all that happen to Star when she’s his granddaughter.”

“He was trying to find her. I know that much.”

“The Sparrows hid her? Could they have learned of her family ties?”

“There’s no way of knowing unless we get one of these bastards to talk.” With blurry eyes, I skimmed Smythe’s diary for the following week. “Smythe and Foundry are the remaining two at the top of the tree. Reinier is in United Brotherhood custody.” I didn’t tell him what that entailed. “DeLaCroix was the leader so we have to assume one of those three took over the mantel once his identity was exposed and he was arrested.”

He tipped his head to the side. “After everything you’ve told me, if the end goal is to kill everyone who hurt Star and her uncle’s murderer, then DeLaCroix needs to die too.”

“He’s in jail.”

“So? Like that matters.”

Silently, I pondered the situation for a moment. “She’s okay with them rotting away in a cell.”

“She is, but this is different, isn’t it? He was actively involved in her and Aleks Kuznetsov’s downfall.”

“Think Eoghan should handle the situation?”

Finn shrugged. “If you want. It’d be a challenge for him. Nice for The Whistler to stretch his wings for once. I’m thinking he’s gotten used to simple hits.”

My lips twitched. “I’m sure he’d prefer a different kind of challenge.”

“Wouldn’t we all?” he mocked.

“True. We go where our skill sets take us.”

I let my thoughts wander a touch.

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