Page 276 of Filthy Truth


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Out of nowhere, they weren’t sitting at the heads of the table for Saturday night dinner anymore. No, they were sitting in the middle of a new glass table that was longer than the other one, with us all clustered around them, the heads no longer set with cutlery.

Weird, but it was their house and we didn’t question it.

Then, crazier still, Aoife, Finn, and Jake showed up at Ma’s apartment for Sunday dinner. While their relationship remained strained, it was better than not having them there at all.

Finn had started smiling more, had stopped looking like he was walking on eggshells, and then, when Aidan asked him to reschedule a trip he’d booked for his family to Denver for some book convention Aoife wanted to attend, Finn had refused.

Small steps, but I thought Star had something to do with it because when I’d told her about Aidan’s expression at Finn’s refusal, she’d smirked.

Now, my woman smirked a lot, but that was a special kind of smirk. One that was smug and happy at the same time.

I dipped my head down and whispered, “I don’t know what you did to fix them but thank you.”

She arched a brow at me. “I didn’t do anything.”

“If you say so.”

“I do.” She tucked into her dinner without taking credit for getting involved, but she didn’t stop me when I hugged her to my side.

But I knew how she rolled.

She hadn’t said anything either when I’d lost a week in my office with work and had dropped ten pounds. Then Ma started popping up in our apartment with food. Food I was hard-wired to want to gorge on.

Star rarely said anything—she acted.

“Conor told us that you got the adoption papers through today, Star?”

She angled her head at Aidan and then peered at the second, smaller table that was set up in the next room where Katina, Shay, and Victoria had taken to sitting so they could watch TV at the same time. “I did.”

My older brother hid a smile. “It wasn’t an accusation.”

“Hmm.”

“Did you get the whole ‘kidnapping of a minor’ thing cleared up too?” Aela asked, surprising me with the fact she knew about that.

Since Star had started attending afternoon tea with the other women, I knew she’d grown closer to them.

“I didn’t. Grandfather did.”

That was new too.

Anton had morphed into ‘Grandfather’ when he’d visited the city to tell her Kathy Harridan, her burned ID, was no longer wanted in Ohio for kidnapping a child.

“Interesting,” Finn mused. “His power is definitely terrifying…”

“And he only abuses it for family,” I teased. “Something we can all get behind.”

Aidan touched his napkin to his lips. “I respect a man who’ll go to the ends of the earth for his kin.”

“That's why you’ve got the ECD causing problems for the British on the borders with Northern Ireland?” Aoife asked coolly. When Aidan arched a brow at her, she continued, “Dagda told me. He’s happier since you had him move back to Ireland, so I have to thank you for that. I won’t thank you, however, if you get him killed.”

I took a sip of wine. “I still don’t understand how that helps the US.”

Aidan shrugged. “Doubt it does. I don’t expect Kuznetsov to tell me his whole game plan so long as he helps us down the road with Seamus.”

Most of my brothers stared at Star as if she could explain. Star just hitched a shoulder. “Grandfather has good intentions. For the most part.”

“Helpful,” Finn retorted.

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