Page 407 of Lodestar

He paused halfway through what appeared to be the beginning of a diatribe then muttered, “Excuse me?”

“You heard me. I know I can’t just take off like that. But I did. I went, I saw, I got captured, then I conquered. I won’t be doing it again.”

Nyx’s gaze, always dour, grumpy, and semi-insane, sharpened upon me. “We ride together or not at all.”

“I’m not a Sinner,” I denied, even though his statement made me feel… weird.

“You are by proxy.”

My brow furrowed. “Then you should have patched me in.”

“You lived with the fucking Road Captain, treated the clubhouse like it was your home, and sniped at our Prez without getting your tongue cut out—what more of a memo could we have given you?”

“When you put it like that…”

“Yeah, I’m putting it like that,” Nyx snapped. “What happened? Maverick’s told us some shit but he claims there’s another goddamn secret society out there. But they’re good cops where the Sparrows are bad cops?”

I grimaced. “That’s one way of describing them.”

“And your grandfather is the head, right?” Cruz queried.

“Yeah.”

“What happened in Russia?”

“Tried to kill him.”

Link chuckled. “Because he was your grandpa or the head of the United Brotherhood?”

“The latter. I only found out the former when I met him.”

“With a view to a kill.” Hawk whistled. “You’re more entertaining than a Bond movie.”

The guys, apart from Nyx of course, laughed.

Steel scratched his jaw. “You didn’t kill him though?”

“No. But his guards held me captive until Conor showed up.”

“Don’t talk to me about that fucker.” Nyx grunted. “Now I find out you’ve gotten with a Five fucking Pointer!”

“This is getting weird,” I complained. “I don’t need to ask permission for dick.”

“Literally,” Link teased, cackling until I elbowed him in the side to shut him up.

“Look, I know I shouldn’t have cut out how I did and I won’t do it again. But if you want a pinkie promise outta me, then you can screw off,” I declared with a sneer. “I’m pretty sure you didn’t ask permission to brand any of your women. Why the hell would I ask you if I could date a Five Pointer?”

“That ring on your finger says you’re doing more than dating him,” Sin drawled. “And I know the O’Donnellys, don’t forget.” His mom—a shitty one at that—was related to them and was married to a high-ranking Pointer. “They don’t stick rings on fingers if they don’t mean it and now he’s getting ink? Are you branding each other?”

Link chuckled. “You picked up on Sinners’ traditions, Star, for someone who claims she ain’t a Sinner.” When I just glowered at him, his brow furrowed. “You became family, Star. Surely, as big as that brain in your head is, you figured that out?”

“I mean, I… No?” Uneasily, I fiddled with my engagement ring. “I wasn’t invited here. I-I stormed my way in and usually stuck my nose where it wasn’t wanted.”

“True. Then you fucking left. Without a word to anyone but your kid.” Nyx scowled at me. “Who does that?”

“Me, apparently.”

“What’s going on now? With the Sparrows, I mean?” Cruz inquired. “We’ve all seen the headlines. Figured you’d have clued us in by now.”

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