Page 16

I swung to glare at him. “Yerhouse hasn’t been mine in seven years, Jack. I’d rather sleep on the street than under yer roof ever again. Get some therapy for yer denial. We’re divorced.”

Rasmus ran a nervous hand through his hair and knocked the tie from his ponytail. He looked like he wanted to run away from me and the others too. I looked him over and wondered how much of a liability the secretive man was going to be.

I sighed in frustration because what I wanted now was to put some hard-earned distance between me and Jack. “Look... I don’t know what makes ya side with my ex-husband so much, but I don’t need ya to get the search done. I also don’t need yer charity. It may surprise everyone in this room, but I have a few friends I could ask to put me up for a night. I just thought ya might want to keep tabs on me and discuss my plans.”

The council woman’s voice rose above the other noises in the room to reach us. “We’ll book two adjoining rooms at the Fairmont Hotel for tonight. During your search, Rasmus can phone in your locations and we’ll find you places to stay as close as we can. We’re willing to pay all expenses.”

I smiled at her. “That’s very kind of ya and much appreciated this evening.”

She nodded but didn’t smile back. “If you find what we’re searching for, it will be worth it.”

I nodded again and gave her a thumbs up. “I’ll do my best.”

Then I turned and walked out of the room. The way Jack glared at both me and Rasmus was getting on my nerves. Maybe I should have left him old and decrepit. Just because I divorced him without chopping off some of his body parts didn’t mean I was over being mad.

It was going to take me a while to master feeling neutral about how much Jack had wronged me.

ChapterFive

The bar in the hotel restaurant had Guinness and crinkle fries. I happily dug into my feast when it arrived. No one paid me much mind while I ate my celebratory dinner.

I was nearly done eating when some good-looking guy in a suit sent me another Guinness. After sending my thanks to him via my kind waitperson, I smiled. Maybe forty and single wouldn’t be so bad after all. Maybe I’d leave my hair gray and see what happened.

I smiled at the fantasy of taking the drink buyer to my room for the night, but casual sex wasn’t my style.

Who was to say the man wasn’t married and cheating on his own wife? I’d have to spell him to be sure. What a mood killer that sort of magick would be.

No, I’d best keep to myself until I’d settled into being single again. I had time and freedom now. Indulging my urge for male company could come later. At forty, I wasn’t in the market for another long-haul relationship, but gaining some regular bed company wouldn’t be a bad thing.

I felt it the moment my admirer found the nerve to approach my booth. Before he made it, a scowling Rasmus stopped him in his tracks. Apparently, scowling was the demon hunter’s superpower because the guy grinned, shrugged, and returned to the bar.

I pursed my lips to keep from chuckling when Rasmus turned his glare my way. “Ya’re a glass half empty kind of person, aren’t ya? He was only being friendly.”

Rasmus kept scowling as he slid into the other side of the booth. “You don’t have time to be picking up men.”

I snickered at his complaint. His irritation was grumpy-old-man funny until I realized that whatever Rasmus believed about me had come from believing Jack’s lies.

“Yeah, I’m a real femme fatale when it comes to attracting men. Not that it’s any of yer business, but unlike my ex-husband, I’ve been celibate for the last seven years. Now that my divorce is official, I can sleep with whoever I want. And I will when I want to.”

“Not until we’re done with this case,” Rasmus said, waving to the wait person.

Using my power to punish his arrogance could become a daily routine if I let him get on my nerves all the time. I politely nibbled on the rest of my fries as I waited for Rasmus to place his order.

When we were alone again, I pushed my plate toward him. “Ya seem hangry, Rasmus. Eat some of my fries before I’m tempted to do something to ya I might regret. My power is a little restless since I bonded with The Dagda Stone. I need to stay as calm as possible until I adjust.”

“You could have waited to do your ritual. And you could have talked to Jack before you divorced him. Why couldn’t you have at least granted him a final say in the matter? You may be the most impatient, unreasonable female I’ve ever met. You were on a diva roll today, and somehow I got stuck with dealing with you.”

I ate another fry as I considered his outburst as neutrally as I could. Then I just had to know. “Well, I think ya’re most naïve man I’ve ever come across. Do ya owe Jack a life debt or something? Other than yer possession of similar man parts, there must be some other reason ya keep haranguing me over my decisions about him. He’s a cheateranda liar. I proved that beyond any doubt today.”

Rasmus squirmed in his seat. “It’s not a life debt, but yes, I owe Jack for keeping me from spending the rest of my life in a cozy cottage like the one you were stuck in. Jack and I were working on a job five years ago and things went wrong. He kept the situation from becoming worse than it already was.”

So Rasmus considered Jack to be his personal hero. At least I’d traced his dislike of me back to the source.

I sipped my Guinness and sighed at the delicious bitterness sliding across my tongue. It was truly the small things in life that brought a person the greatest joy. “If ya think Jack is such a wonderful catch, why don’t ya marry him yerself? Fiona told me same-sex relationships are legal in some places now.”

“You’re mouthy and disrespectful. I don’t know what Jack ever saw in you.”

I set down my drink and looked him in the eye. “If ya keep harping on his wonderfulness and how awful ya think I’ve been to him, I’m going to spell yer mouth shut. I’ve been on my best behavior so far with ya. Some women would have neutered Jack for his cheating. Despite the mercy I showed my ex, I don’t take betrayal lightly. Yer comments are leaning too much in that same ugly direction for me.”