Page 540 of Lodestar

“And, hell, phones and emails workbothways. I don’t remember you reaching out to me.”

To punctuate my speech, I let go of Conor’s hand, placed the wine glass beside the table setting, picked up my cutlery, and carefully settled a bite of chicken in my mouth.

As I chewed, Dagger staggered around the table and took a seat where Paris had been. Once he swiveled to look at me, his hand moved to my shoulder. “That really happened to you, Star?” he rasped, his tired eyes crinkling at the corners in concern.

“No, Dad, she just thought she’d make it up,” Camden snapped.

Dagger blinked. “I-I didn’t realize. I just thought you were like Casey.”

Curiosity had me asking, “And how was my mom?”

He swallowed. “Flighty. Never able to settle. It’s one of the reasons we were so often on tour when you were youngsters.”

“I used to think she was encouraging your dad to tour because of the money we earned. The record company got the bulk of the royalties from record sales, but the band picked up the lion’s share for ticket sales,” Lorelei admitted, her voice low as she studied me as if I were a freak at the circus.

I speared her with a glower and jabbed a finger in the air. “Thatis not why I told you what happened to me. I don’t need your pity, Lorelei.”

She licked her lips but graced me with a soft nod. Her background in psychology was doing us both a favor at that point.

Conor cleared his throat. “You were saying you were working in your studio in Florida, Camden?”

I shot him a grateful smile for changing the subject even as my mind was ticking—Mom had wanted to tour for reasons that were shaped like the Brotherhood…

As Camden nodded, answering, “Making new music,” I was typing under the table:

Me: When my mom first got with my dad, what was her mission?

The story went, after all, that they met at the US Embassy in Madrid.

That wasn’t the coincidence the Daniels believed it to be…

“I didn’t think you’d be able to get much work done,” Dagger admitted. “The neighboring estate has been getting noisier and noisier. I wish I’d never built the studio on the west plot.”

“It was quiet over there, actually. No parties.”

“I thought you’d be the first to attend.”

Camden flipped Vana the bird. “I don’t like it over there. Haven’t gone to one since the early days.”

“You attended a party on the neighboring estate?” Dagger clarified, his shoulders still hunched as he plunked one elbow on the table.

“Only the one. The women…” He pulled a face. “I’m ninety-nine percent certain they were drugged. I didn’t realize at first because most of the attendees were high, but safe to say, it skeeved me out enough to get the hell away from there and to never go back.”

“And you didn’t report it?!” Lorelei demanded, her hands slamming against the table, making the cutlery and glassware rattle.

Anton: If memory serves, it was related to the Lockerbie bombing. noxxious were on a world tour. The dates were, shall we say, opportune. Why?

Me: No reason. Just curious.

Hmm.

“Who could I report it to?” Camden argued, bringing my focus back to our conversation. “I did call the cops but they said they sent a patrol car to investigate.

“They never stopped the party, though, and haven’t intervened since. The parties haven’t been as frequent as they used to be anyway. There wasn’t even a single one while I was down there.

“I just figured the owner had stopped visiting.” He chewed on the inside of his cheek. “I wasn’t disturbed by any noise. Got a new album partially written. Music is always a proactive way to process my… struggles.” His nose crinkled. “But, fuck, after Star’s admission, I’m feeling fucking petty for struggling, period.”

My shoulders straightened. “Why?”

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