Lodestar
“Hello, priest.”
When he jumped a clear six inches in the air, I didn’t bother rolling my eyes.
“I’m not a priest.”
Unimpressed, I said, “You need to work on growing some balls, kid. I know the church emasculated you, but you’re not doing the Lord’s work anymore, are you?”
“What the fuck are you doing in my room?”
Was it just me or did he sound scandalized?
I sniffed. “I wanted to talk with you.”
“About what?”
“Not tonight.”
He released a shaky breath. “Good.”
“Although… How’d it go?” I queried as I snapped a light on.
He frowned, his eyes adjusting to the sudden blast, but my eyes were used to shifts in lighting so I took him in faster than he could me.
A few specks of blood spattered his face, his eyes were wild, and his expression was calm.
This far, Harlow made me think of James Dean. Mooching around the place, his face tortured, his pain clearly on display for everyone to see.
You didn’t need to know what it was to be aware that it was heinous.
He was the ultimate rebel with a cause, and I was a sucker for that. Especially with eyes so blue that—
Okay, we didn’t need to get into that.
Not only was he far too young for me, but I already had a man I was pining over. One who made Harlow look like a little boy.
My hands curled into fists at the thought.
Would I ever get to kiss Conor?
“He died,” was his simple answer, but I jerked as he tore me from my thoughts.
“Did you make him suffer? Did Nyx get his hands dirty?”
Like he was in a daze, slowly, he shook his head. “He promised his sister he wouldn’t murder anyone again.”
I knew he’d killed that rapist, but that didn’t count. Under the circumstances, I’d have condemned him for not killing that scum-sucking piece of shit.
“He kept his promise?”
His answer mattered more than he could know.
“He did.”
That shouldn’t have satisfied me, but it did.
I liked a man with honor, even if I had none myself.
But Nyx’s actions meant that my presence here was necessary—I’d had faith in him, and it had paid off. That meant it was doubly important I kept his ass out of jail.
“Was the guy dead by the time Nyx got called to the hospital?”
“No.”
And he’d left to go and be with Giulia.
Awww. Nyx really was growing up.
Now he had a son to drive him crazy as well as a batshit Old Lady.
Seeing the photo he’d sent everyone, the baby in a onesie that had a tiny devil on the front, had made me realize I needed to check in with the priest.
Changing the subject, I asked, “You feeling fucked in the head?”
“How does that feel?”
I thought about that. “Like you want to scream?”
“I’ve been feeling like that since Jessie… No. Tonight, I don’t want to scream.”
“Ah, so you’re feeling blissed out, huh?”
When he didn’t reply, just sank onto the side of his bed and stared blankly at the wall, I figured I had my answer.
Softly, a couple minutes later, he said, “I’m feeling more relaxed, yes.” He turned to look at me, and it was kinda creepy and kinda hot. But then, I’d always liked the freaks. “What are you doing here? You’re Lodestar, aren’t you?”
“Should probably have started with that question before you admitted to committing a murder,” I drawled, amused when he tensed. “Yeah, I’m Star. I’m here because…” My amusement faded. “There’ll come a day when I’m not around anymore—”
“Why? The club relies on you, doesn’t it?”
“It does, but I’m on a mission of my own.”
He swallowed. “Oh.”
Figured the priest’d get that better than most.
“I won’t be sticking around to say bye—” Apart from to Kat, but he didn’t need to know that.
“—but what you’re doing, your mission, is something that I’m interested in.
You’ll never go down for taking the trash out.
Ever. So, if it happens again, when it happens again,” I corrected, “and if I’m not here, you get in touch and I will facilitate your hunt. ”
“It wasn’t like that. The body was in the warehouse when we showed up.”
My nose crinkled. “Where’s the fun in that?”
“It was…” The priest tilted his head to the side. “Is that what was missing?”
I shrugged. “Hunting’s half the fun.”
He released a shaky breath. “Fine.”
“Fine?”
“Yes. When, the next time, if you’re not here, I’ll get in touch. Will you leave me an email address or something?”
I handed him a scrap of paper with a scrawled web address on there.
“Contact me through the site.”
His brow furrowed. “?”
I smirked. “Just a joke.”
Gaze somber, he studied me. “Not everything is a joke, Star.”
On edge, that somber gaze turning weird, turning knowing, I commented, “I don’t need converting, buddy.
Just wanted you to know that even if I’m not around anymore, you can depend on me to keep your ass away from the electric chair.
” I reached up and pointed to the places on my chin where there were specks on his.
“You got blood on you. Go and clean up.”
He didn’t get to his feet, just gave me a slow nod before he rumbled the creepiest shit ever: “Go with God, Star.”
Hiding a shudder, I sniffed. “God can’t help me, priest.”