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50
CONOR
Finn clappedme on the back when I walked into his man cave and dragged me into a hug. “I didn’t know how much I’d miss you until you left. You’re the only one with any sense, I swear to fuck.”
Brennan punched me in the arm. “What’s going on?”
Grumbling, I rubbed my bicep. “That’s your idea of a greeting?”
“You’re pulling moves without discussing them first with the family.”
With an eye roll, I retorted, “What am I supposed to do? Drop everything and teleconference with you before we make important decisions?”
“You should consult us. Aidan said you want to alter our plans. That’s something we should be discussing together.”
“Brennan, calm down,” Finn clipped. “Since when does Conor do anything that doesn’t take the family’s best interests into consideration?”
My older brother didn’t appear to have an answer for that, but that just made his scowl darken. “We’re in this together. If we start pulling apart, then everything will go to hell.”
“You’re just pouting because I got to leave the country and you didn’t. Trust me, Bren, I haven’t been on a fucking vacation.”
“What has Sullivan gotten you involved in?” Aidan queried, his tone quiet as he stared at his whiskey glass.
“Sullivan,” I mocked, “is going to be your sister-in-law—”
“You asked her to marry you?” Finn inquired.
“You barely know her,” Brennan ground out.
“Fuck off, Brennan. It’s been two goddamn years! Like you knew Camille when you married her. So sit the fuck down.”
“I didn’t have a choice. She forced my hand—”
“And is the best thing that’s ever happened to you,” Eoghan inserted, his tone low. Measured.
I shot him a grateful look, but the shadows under his eyes stole most of my attention. I hated how he suffered. God, I wished I could provide him with relief from the mess the Forces had made of his brain.
“I’m not saying she isn’t,” Brennan spat. “I’m just saying, Conor, if you need help, we’re here.”
I didn’t like how he consistently thought badly of Star but his words resonated—Brennan was our fixer. He wanted to fix this situation if I was in danger, yet there was nothing to fix.
Even though our situation was unusual and we were deep into a mission to bring down the Sparrows, all was right with my goddamn world now that Star and I were together. Nothing else mattered.
My temper dispersed some. “Brennan, how deep is the family’s dependence on my skills?”
“Nose deep.”
His admission further quenched my temper. “So, why do you think my judgment is compromised in relation to her?”
He ducked his head. “We’re supposed to look after you.”
“Says who? Da? Da didn’t look after me,” I retorted. “So you don’t need to worry about that, and Star’s who I want to be with. She isn’t dragging me into dick. In fact, the opposite just happened. She cut ties so I didn’t have to be involved, and that messed with my head more than anything.
“She’s been through a lot, Brennan, and for the first time, she knows she’s not on her own. That I’m with her. That I’ll help. I won’t let you make her question that, not when it’s taken me so fucking long to ram that lesson home.
“If you have a problem with her, then I’m getting out of here. No disrespecting her, understood?”
“I wouldn’t have disrespected her.”
