Page 331 of Lodestar

“Shecantalk,” Troy snapped. “It’s just easier for her to listen.”

I was quiet for a moment. “Let’s hope she becomes a teacher and not another spy. With that talent, she’s a shoo-in for the family firm.”

“So, DagdaisAoife’s uncle, right?” Troy asked, otherwise ignoring me.

“Yeah,” Conor confirmed.

“Awkward.”

I grimaced. “Very awkward.”

“And your da killed Aoife’s mom, why?”

Before I could correct her, Conor cleared his throat. “To keep her quiet.”

Well, that was a lie.

Interesting.

“About?” Troy peppered.

Curious about where he was taking this when his ma was the one who’d killed Michelle Keegan, not his father, I waited for him to explain.

“Does it matter?” he grumbled. “This has nothing to do with our current situation.”

“That’s where you’re wrong. Whatever led each of us to this point is pertinent to our current situation.”

He huffed. “Dagda is the head of the ECD.”

“Those IRA psychos that take extremism to the nth degree?”

“Those are the ones,” I confirmed.

“Now you get involved,” he groused at me. “When Dagda was in prison, he maintained his position in the ECD, but a Five Pointer, a guy we trusted, wanted to take over the group. Da helped him.”

“And they used his sister as leverage?”

“Yeah,” Conor lied.

“Huh. You know, the first family get-together needs to be televised because I have to watch this showdown.”

“Shut up, Troy,” I retorted, uncomfortable with her mockery because I’d had a part in causing this chaos and it was only coming to light because of my meddling.

Plus, I’d inadvertently shit in my own bed because they were my family now.

Conor had opened his arms to me no matter what I’d done in the past and he’d offered me acceptance.

I already knew that I was a moron—this just confirmed it.

She heaved a sigh, but thank God she stayed quiet because, suddenly, his lies made sense.

For whatever reason, Dagda believed that Aidan Sr. was behind his sister’s murder, not Lena O’Donnelly, and seeing ashis da was dead and his ma wasn’t, Conor obviously wanted to perpetuate the lie.

As silence fell among us again, I let my mind drift onto the topic of the moment—not by one iota did I believe that my mother was alive, but maybe Conor was right. Talking with Dagda might be the one thing I’d never had until now.

Closure.

I’d never found any justification for her death, and that made sense. If it was a Jorgmundgander operation and her identity was as wiped as the snakes could make it, the only person with some answers was the man who pulled the trigger.

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