Page 276 of Lodestar

“You did? Stop knowing me so well.”

He chuckled. “I have an entry and exit strategy, but it needs me on the ground and you, Dead To Me, as well asTroy to get involved.”

I shrugged. “They’ll be down for it.”

“You think Troy will try to make a run for it tonight?”

“I do, but I think she’ll end up talking herself out of it. She’s hella paranoid, but she’s safe here and she loves Lyra and Lyra is undeniably better protected in an Irish Mob stronghold than in a car on the road in the middle of Buttfuck, USA.”

“I understand why she’s paranoid,” he admitted. “Her father’s a known psychopath. Just as crazy as Da but without the religion to temper him.”

“I don’t think religion tempered your da,” I drawled with a disbelieving laugh.

“Oh, you’d be surprised.” He hummed. “It’s interesting that she lost herself in... well, whatever she is.”

“Nah. It makes sense. The best way to get rid of your demons is to lose yourself in a cause that’s bigger than you.”

“Whatisher cause?”

“The CIA recruited Troy while she was with the LVPD. She graduated out of the academy top of her class and walked a beat for a while, but then she made a couple snappy arrests and it green-lit her.

“She’s fucking fast with a rifle, not as accurate as Cin, but a quick and solid shot. Plus, it’s whacko how many languages she speaks.”

“Didn’t think they’d have wanted her with her past,” he admitted.

“You’d be astonished by what they’ll accept if it fits their current agenda."

“I’m surprised you’d know all that but not about her family.”

“She isn’t exactly the sharing type. Alberto De Laurentiis told me.”

He frowned at me. “De Laurentiis? The previous Don of the Camorra?”

I grunted. “I knew him through my dad. He told me he fed her resume to the alphabets.”

“Why?”

“He was a clever old coot.” A soft laugh escaped me as something hit home after I’d spent years wondering... “Bet he knew about her family and used that as leverage. More than likely bit him in the ass though. Doubt she’d take being blackmailed lying down.”

“Did he have anything on you?”

I chuckled. “Photos of bad haircuts when I was a kid? Definitely. Savannah, Camden, and I got wasted too many times to count, and I’d hazard a guess and say that he knew the shit we got up to and could have used it if he wanted, but he didn’t. He liked me.” I thought back to this past year and how crazy it had been. “I’ll miss the old bastard.” If my tone was wistful, so be it. “He was so fucking clever. Always ten steps ahead. A bitch to beat at chess.”

“Did you ever win?”

I smiled. “Once or twice.”

“You have anything to do with his death?”

“Maybe.”

He sighed. “Your ‘maybes’ are starting to give me heartburn.”

“At least I’m not the only one dealing with that,” I groused.

“You have heartburn?”

“Never mind.” I cleared my throat. “He asked me for my help. Who was I to ignore a friend in need?”

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