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6

STAR

“What are you doing out here? It’s below zero.”

“I could ask you the same question.”

“The cold helps my head.”

Nestling my nose below my scarf to keep it from dropping off, I arched a brow at Mav. “I needed some fresh air too. Plus, I figured you’d come outside at some point.”

He shot me a lopsided grin as he ambled to the lounger at my side, where he scraped off a bunch of snow with his arm.

Lying back, he kicked one booted foot over the other, huddled into the thick winter coat he was wearing, and stared up at the stars.

For a moment, neither of us said anything.

For a moment, words weren’t necessary.

“You ever think back to those days in the sandbox?”

“Of course,” I answered softly.

“STONE, I WANT YOU TO MARRY ME!”

Both of us peered over our shoulders at Steel, who was drunkenly screaming the words up at a balcony where Stone was standing with Lily and Amara.

“I’m already fucking married to you, idiot!”

“I NEED TO TIE YOU DOWN AGAIN.”

“You not heard handcuffs?” Amara demanded. “They good shit.”

“She’s not wrong,” Maverick said with a laugh.

“I GOTTA MARRY YOU AGAIN, BABY.”

“Stop screaming at me!”

“YOU’RE TOO FAR AWAY.”

“I’m upstairs!”

“I’M COMING!”

When Steel staggered off to find his lady love, I shook my head in amusement.

“You remember what it was like to think you’d never see the sky from this position?”

My brows lifted at his question, but I nodded. “Same moon but it looks different here, doesn’t it?”

He chuckled softly. Sadly. And I knew he was thinking about Nic. “Yeah. It does. Maybe it’s the adrenaline. Fucks with your eyesight.”

“Nah, it’s more like it fucks with your heart.”

“True that.” He cleared his throat. “So many times, I thought I’d never make it. Nights like tonight, when we’re all together, it hits home how far I’ve, we’ve come.”

“The holidays always make us retrospective, I guess.”

There was a popping sound followed by a hiss. “Want some?”

Holding out my hand, I took the can. “Nonalcoholic beer tastes like cat piss.”

“Yeah, it does,” he agreed as he took a sip. “This is the only time I drink it. Makes me feel normal.”

“Normal’s overrated.”

“Still having those anxiety issues?”

I groaned. “Fuck’s sake. Let me guess—Kat?”

“Yup. She was asking Tiff about psychoses and anxiety. With a side order of panic attacks. Don’t be mad at her though. She was asking if there was anything she could do to help.”

Rubbing the bridge of my nose, I muttered, “Some days, it’s worse than others.”

“Same goes.” He sighed. “Guess we had to have something after all the shit we did. Maybe it’s our penance.”

“Fuck off,” I grumbled. “I get enough of the Catholic bullshit with the Irish. Don’t you start on me.”

He chuckled. “I won’t start nothing. Promise.”

“Good. Because if you say shit like we deserve this, then I’ll have to throw you in the pool.”

“How you going to do that when it’s frozen over?” he taunted.

“Exactly. You already have enough head trauma without me adding to it, so can it.” I snagged the cat-piss beer. “Conor found a way to calm me down.”

“We lucked out, didn’t we?”

“We did.” I sighed as I thought about Alessa, who’d never really forgiven me for, well, everything I’d done. Including breathing. “We really did.”

“She’ll come around,” he said as if he knew where my mind had headed.

“Maybe she won’t. And that’s okay. I’m just happy you have her.”

“Not as happy as I am. Still not sure if she deserves my bullshit, but she’d throw me in the pool, too, if I said that so I keep my mouth shut.”

“I can sew it shut if that would help?”

“Did Conor take away your gun?”

I sniffed. “He did actually.”

“Ahh.” His voice lightened with amusement. “Who did you want to shoot?”

“A mayor in Honolulu.”

“Why?”

“Do you really want to spoil the party?”

He grunted. “No.”

“Then don’t ask.”

My gaze locked on Hawk and Quin who, for whatever reason, ran past us, one bootless and the other?—

“Is he naked?”

Maverick snorted. “It’s your turn not to ask. Wait for it…”

I cackled when Nyx appeared, racing after them and roaring, “Motherfuckers, get your asses back here!”

“If he catches them, he’ll kill them,” Maverick said with a laugh.

“I’ll bet.”

“Nyx, you forgot the hammer!” Sin hollered from behind us.

“You no kill my men,” Amara yelled from the balcony where Steel and Stone were now making out. “I kill you!”

“She means it,” Maverick muttered.

“Fucking feral,” I agreed.

“Anyway, want a gun?”

“Maybe.” I grimaced as I tugged on my cut. “No. We had a deal.”

“What kind of deal?”

“We have to stop killing people.”

“Shitty deal.”

“Depends. Some of them, we can bury alive.”

“Whoa!” he sputtered, beer spraying out in a fine mist as he choked on it. “That escalated.”

“Some people deserve it.”

“Jesus Christ!”

I grinned as I snagged the can. “I like that I can still surprise you, Maverick. Means I haven’t lost my edge.”

“Consider me fucking surprised.”