Page 400 of Lodestar

Nothing was more important than family. That was a core value Conor and I shared, even if it was only now that I registered how much of a priority it was to me too.

32

CONOR

COVER ME IN SUNSHINE - P!NK, WILLOW SAGE HART

“Maverick!”Katina screeched.

She seemed to do things at three volume levels—shouting, screeching, and shrieking. Sometimes, she broke shit up by mumbling, but that was only before bed and after waking up.

What surprised me was that I didn’t mind it. Had it made me jump at first? Sure. I was a bachelor who lived alone. Having a kid racing around that made more noise than a jumbo jet was definitely a change of pace. But after ten days of living together, I was adapting.

I was also acclimating to my sofa being used as a scratching post, my decorative tree doubling up as a coat stand, and the second bathroom down the hall smelling of weird perfume thanks to the litter boxes we stored there.

Maverick winced at the screech, but when Katina approached him, she slowed, and her hug was gentle, as if she thought he was fragile. My experiences with the man said he was anything but, and when I neared, I waited for him to stick out his hand first.

We shook on it, mostly because Lodestar had threatened me on the ride over, and he grimaced. “I’m sorry about?—”

“The concussion?” I prompted.

His grimace deepened. “Yeah. That. But this little shit had freaked me out.”

Katina oohed. “Wait until I tell Alessa you swore in front of me.”

She raced off, giggling, maneuvering through the crowds that wereherpeople—she was a Sinners’ brat. For the moment. I’d make her a Fecker before she was done with childhood.

Maverick grunted at her departure. “Thanks for bringing Star home.”

“I wasn’t about to accept any other alternative.”

“She needs someone like you. Smart enough to keep her on her toes, quick enough to chase after her when she lets herself get caught up in other people’s problems.” Maverick lifted his can of Bud Lite to his mouth. The sight was incongruous, what with the ink and the leather cut, but I figured he probably wasn’t even supposed to be drinking that with all the meds he was on. “Saw that ring on her finger. You wifing her?”

“Was I supposed to ask the Sinners for permission first?” I drawled, tone smooth as I looked onto the gardens where a couple guys were smoking.

Maverick’s mouth quirked into a smirk. “You could ask, and we’d have said no. That wouldn’t have stopped her though.”

“Not much does.”

“Sure as fuck not the law, and definitely no Sinners’ bylaws either.” He pulled a face. “Crazy not having her around, can’t deny it. And the peace is fucking weird now that Kat’s gone too. I’m used to tripping over her shit wherever I go. Didn’t think I’d miss it, missthem, but I do.”

“I was relieved when Alessa didn’t stop Star from moving out of Jersey,” I admitted.

“She knows who Kat’s mom is. She also knows that I’d rip you both a new one if you tried to tear Kat and her apart and didn’t allow her to visit.”

I lifted my own can of beer to my mouth. “Does this mean I’m part of the family if you’re only offering to ream me and not kill me?”

“It does,” he groused.

“We have plenty of space in our apartment,” I offered. “You can come and stay whenever you like.”

“Same goes here. Lily won’t mind. This place is a secondary clubhouse anyway.”

'This place' was a billionaire’s mansion.

“Does that mean the Sinners have gone bougie?”

Maverick snorted as he tipped his beer at me. “I think we have.”

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