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Conor cleared his throat. “I’d been searching for her for a while, Katina. I know you wanted to speak to me because you were scared, but it scaredmeto think that you ran away from Jersey and came into the city alone.
“New York isn’t safe for little girls.”
“New York isn’t safe for big girls,” I retorted.
He winced. “Star’s right.”
Kat crinkled her nose. “I won’t do it again. I’m really sorry Maverick smacked you, Conor. Alessa made him sleep on the couch because of it after she stopped crying when she saw I was back.” Knowing what was incoming, I waited for the drum roll... “Star, why is sleeping on the couch a punishment? I like sleeping on the couch.”
“You like watching TV before bed,” I quipped. “You don’t like the couch. Plus, you’re little.”
“I’m not that little!”
“You’re littler than Maverick, aren’t you?” I argued.
She pouted. “Not by much.”
“By two and a half feet,” I drawled.
“That’s not much.”
“It makes all the difference on a couch,” Conor teased, which considering how we’d spent the night, had me turning to him with a laugh.
Kat flicked a glance between us, then slowly, she asked, “When are you coming home? I miss your PB&J sandwiches.”
“I’ve found a way to get to the people who hurt me, Kat,” I admitted. “It won’t be for a while. But I will have more time to call you now. I—” The word ‘promise’ was on the tip of my tongue.
Conor squeezed my arm. “I’m here now, Kat. You know she’s safe because we’re always safe when we’re with family.”
Jesus, his words made me want to cry as much as her tears had.
Confusion bled into her expression. “You’re not family though,” she answered him, her tone careful.
Gruffly, he corrected, “Family can be chosen.”
“Star chose me,” Katina agreed.
“And I choose you both,” was his light reply.
With an imperious glare, she stared down her nose at him. “Will you look after her?”
“I will.”
“You said you’d bring her home to me.”
There was no hiding the accusation there. “And I will. Just when the time’s right.”
Now, she started squinting at him, her nose scrunched up, but she began to nod. Then, she broke me some more—her bottom lip trembled. “I missed you, Star.”
“I missed you too, baby.” Being away from her hurt more than I’d expected. She was my kid. I didn’t give a fuck who’d given birth to her. Didn’t care whose DNA she shared and whose blood ran through her veins. She wasmine. I kept my possessive thoughts to myself and, with a warning note, queried, “Are you going to be good for Alessa and Maverick?”
“I’m always good.”
“Well, we know that’s a lie,” I mocked.
My kid wafted a hand. “I had to fix things.”
“It’smyjob to fix stuff,” I corrected before something occurred to me. “Are you covering your eyes when people kiss on TV?”
