AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“This could have ended a thousand times worse than it did and that fucking kills me, but I can’t cuff her to a chair—”
“I’m not asking you to cuff her to a chair! Just, you know, for her not to head to Manhattan while your back is turned. Mission. Goddamn. Failure.”
“I know! I’m really fucking sorry, Star. It won’t happen again.”
“How do you know that? How can I trust that?”
“I’ve set protocol in place. She got out by sneaking into one of the housekeeper’s vehicles. The guards know to check—”
“Why weren’t they already?”
“It was an oversight. Oneweboth missed. Link too.” That gave her pause because she stopped sniping at him as he continued, “The threat of her going MIA is low now that she knows where you are.” Maverick sighed. “I hate to say it, Star, because I know I screwed up, but the change in her when you stopped calling was immense.”
“I was taken captive, Maverick,” she said wearily, some of her ire having diminished, but it didn’t stop her from countering, “What would you have preferred for me to do? Tell my jailor that he was ignoring the Geneva Conventions? Maybe I should have thrown my lot in with Amnesty International. Do you think they’d have helped? Oh, wait, I didn’t have access to them either.
“I left her with family. With people who love her. Who want to keep her safe. More than that, I left her withyou. You had my back in the sandbox. You knew what it meant when I left the only thing that matters to me in your care.
“Yes, I fucked up. Yes, I’m sorry about that. You’ve no idea how much it hurts me to know that I scared her. She’s lost so much already and I never intended on letting her down—
“You’re a mom now. That changes everything. You can’t just head out like you did in the past. That’s not how it works.”
“Fuck. You. You know what I’m working toward. I’m trying to stop women likeyourOld Lady,” she spat even though his tone hadn’t been argumentative, “from ever being hurt again. I’m stopping these bastards from ever getting their hands on women they think will slip between the cracks and using and abusing them.
“You think you had it rough, Maverick? I know you’ve been to hell and back, but you have no idea what Alessa, Amara, and myself have gone through. Never mind the fuck knows how many women the Sparrows have trafficked over the years.Thosewomen are who I’m fighting for. Kat’s goddamn mother was among that unknown number.
“I didn’t fuck off to Mexico for some winter sun and a spa treatment. I went to change the world so that it’s a better place for my kid.”
By the end of that speech, she was breathing heavily and Maverick was silent.
I didn’t need to fight Star’s battles for her, but I approached her with caution and gently slid my hands up her arms when she didn’t shove me aside.
As I reached her biceps, I drew her against me, letting her rest her forehead on my chest instead of leaving her to stare blankly at the wall of windows beyond. Her shudder as she burrowed into me made me gladder for thinking to comfort her.
She was so strong that it was easy to think she didn’t need that. But things were different with me, weren’t they?
Miserably, Maverick stated, “I’m sorry, Star. I’m so fucking sorry.”
“I don’t need you to say sorry,” she whispered. “I need you to make sure my daughter is safe.”
The breath he released was audible. “Star, sheis. She knows where you are now.
“You’re raising a kid who isn’t afraid to wade into the fray for the people she loves.Youare the person she loves. Sure, she cares for Alessa and me, butyou are her mom. You’re raising a little lioness and those kinds of people don’t back down.
“Can you tell me, if the roles were reversed and you were Kati and you thought that O’Donnelly guy would help bring your mom home, that you wouldn’t sneak out too?”
She was quiet for so long that I knew she was trying to figure out how to say no without actually saying the word. Then, she gave up trying and huffed. “No.”
As my lips curved, Maverick diplomatically reasoned, “Don’t be surprised when she pulls these stunts. She might come across like an elephant-footed fairy, stomping on people’s toes and accidentally kicking them as she does a cartwheel, but she’s a smart kid who isn’t afraid to do what needs to be done—in this instance, that was bringing you home.
“We did figure out how she left, and I plugged in the gap in our security. Even if she tried, it won’t happen again, but I’m telling you, the reason for her leaving is done with so she’s safe and you don’t need to worry.
“Now, with that being said, that doesn’t meanI’mnot worrying. What the fuck went down? Who held you captive?”
I rubbed a hand down her back, surprised that she let me comfort her, yet alsonot. Star was starved of affection and I didn’t think she even knew it. She was so hemmed in that it was a wonder she could breathe freely.
As she gave Maverick a surprisingly in-depth rundown of what had happened and the deal she’d struck with Kuznetsov, I listened and just held her.
Supporting without interfering.
