“Is there a reason I can’t get out?” I questioned, gaze flickering over to the house. “Is she in there but doesn’t want to see me?”
Lily blinked then wafted a dismissive hand. “No. My partner is very protective. If you go inside, it will start a whole argument about why you’re here, and I have better things to be doing with him than soothing his ruffled ego.”
“Your man’s Link, isn’t he?”
She didn’t like that I knew that, but she nodded all the same. “He’s got the flu right now, and he’s a very bad patient. I don’t need this to add to his stress.”
Nose crinkling, I pulled back. “You might be contagious,” I accused.
Her lips curved. “I did the smart thing and had the flu shot. He didn’t.”
Uneasy, I muttered, “Where’s Star?”
“That’s why I agreed to speak with you. I don’t know. I was hoping you did. She mentions you a lot—”
“She left?” I ground out, interrupting her.
“She did.” Lily frowned. “The only person who knows where she went is her foster daughter.”
“Kati knows?”
“Well, we assume so. She’s the only one who isn’t worried.”
“She left her behind?” At Lily’s confirmation, a bad feeling spread throughout me. A little like blood poisoning, I could feel its necrotic crawl through my system. “Star would never do that.”
“I’m afraid you’ll find she did,” Lily replied softly.
I cast her a look, saw her sympathetic expression, and gritted my teeth. “Did she give no clue about where she went?”
“No. But she’s been acting strangely ever since she got her casts removed.”
“That was months ago.” At the beginning of the damn year!
Lily shrugged. “I know. It’s the truth though.”
I hadn’t noticed much difference. Other than her being bloodthirstier in Call of Duty and her working longer hours, that is.
“Who’s looking after Kati?”
“Her sister, Alessa, and her partner, Maverick.”
Rubbing a hand over my face, I muttered, “She’d never leave Kati behind.”
“But she did,” Lily retorted, shivering as a nasty gust of wind swept her hair away from her neck.
I peered up at the sky, grimacing when I saw rain was coming. Either that or snow.
The weather had been acting weird. We’d had some snowfall a week ago so anything was possible… and they said climate change wasn’t real. Snow in late September? It was barely fall.
“She wouldn’t have left Kati behind without a good reason.” I thought back to the last time I’d spoken with her and demanded, “When did she leave?”
“I’m not entirely sure. Star keeps peculiar hours. Kati was being bullied again,” she offered with a grimace. “Star has an unusual way of dealing with things, and it was only when the principal demanded to speak with her that Alessa realized she’d left.”
Unease made the hairs at the back of my neck stand on edge.
I rasped, “Kati didn’t tell anyone she’d left?”
“No.”
“Can I speak with her?”
Lily shook her head. “I don’t think that would be appropriate.”
My mouth tensed, but I nodded. Star wouldn’t like it if I pumped her daughter for answers, either.
“Thank you for being so candid.”
I wasn’t sure why, but after a short study of my person, she sighed. “If it’s any consolation, she left her rig behind.”
Hope swelled inside me. “She did?”
Lily nodded.
If she’d left her computers behind then… “She’ll be back.”
“I didn’t doubt she would be. I don’t think Kati would be taking it so well if—” She broke off. “You mean… you thought she was going to hurt herself?”
“No, not that.”
“You think she’s in danger?”
Tension filled me as I murmured, “Yes, I think she is.”
Her hand snatched out to grip a hold of my arm. “Will you try to find her?”
I gritted my teeth at her touch and grated out, “Oh, make no bones about it. I will.”
A few minutes later, I left Lily behind, and though my temper was at war with my concern, as I rode away, I shoved my AirPod back into my ear.
I wasn’t interested in whatever bullshit my father was involved in, but I knew I had to be.
On the ride home, I couldn’t do anything to help locate Star, but this was something I could do.
Da’s voice might sound collected, but I heard the throb of anger within it as he intoned, “I made a deal with Michael, sure, but if he wanted guards, then he should have gotten his cheile friends to look after him. I’m not his nanny, Elizabeth.”
“You mean you don’t know where he is?”
Frowning at the question, I wondered why she was asking now. Michael had been dead for six months. I’d know. I was the one who’d delivered him to his maker.
Da had never mentioned Michael, his illness, death, and/or funeral, which left me thinking Ma hadn’t told him what had gone down. Maybe he even thought the man was still alive?
All Da knew was that Aoife had found out about Ma killing her mom and that was why they didn’t come around anymore.
Ma must have stepped in at some point though. Da wasn’t the kind of man you said ‘no’ to. She must have stopped him from demanding Finn, Aoife, and Jake show up on Sundays.
Shoving that thought away, I had to ask myself if Da really didn’t know Michael was dead yet.
This was confusing as fuck.
“I didn’t say that I didn’t know where Michael is, now did I? Funny how you’re calling me. Someone whispered something in my ear recently about the pair of you.
“Imagine how surprised I was to find out you and Michael had a thing going. Wonder what the president would have to say about that…”
There was silence down the other end of the line. “Do you, or do you not know where Michael is?”
“Even funnier that this is the first time you’ve asked about him. His cancer’s terminal,” Da droned. “Thought his little woman would care about that.”
“We had a falling out,” Elizabeth bit off. “He’s supposed to be in a hospice, but there are no records of him—” She hissed under her breath. “Where is he, Aidan?”
“Information like that comes at a price,” Da taunted, leaving me wondering if someone had betrayed me. Had they told Da that I’d dealt with Michael? Or was this all BS?
Seeing as the man was fish food, there was no way my father could know his exact whereabouts, but when Elizabeth Davidson didn’t bite, Da drawled, “I’ll be at Greenwood Cemetery at three. I’ll meet you at my brother’s grave.” He gave her directions on how to reach it. “If you want answers, I’ll see you there. And don’t even think about bringing your guards along.”
“How am I supposed to get away from them?” she snapped.
“Not my problem. You want to know where lover boy is, you know where to find me.”