Page 19

“As proud as I was of ya standing yer ground on Conn, I hated every moment ya were in that place, Aran.”

I chuckled. “I hated it too, Ma. But it’s over. And I mean that. I have no reason to let it happen again, so ya can stop worrying about me.”

“I know ya only stayed all that time because of Fiona.”

I nodded and let my head drop. “It seemed the best strategy to keep Jack from taking things out on her. I was hoping my tolerance did not disappoint ya.”

Ma stood six inches taller than me. She and Da both had. Neither of them were tall, but they hadn’t known why I stopped growing when I did.

Ma reached out and lifted my chin up. “I understand yer heart is as good as a person gets, and I’m a proud mother. Who’s the guy at the table, the one who’s glaring at me? He reeks of the Underdark.”

Demon hunters all reeked of demons. It came with their job. “That’s the smell of a successful job well done on him, Ma. His name’s Rasmus.”

My mother stared at Rasmus over my head and it made me nervous.

“He’s harmless,” I added to be sure she knew.

Her gaze came back to me. “No man is harmless. I know I taught ya better than that. Couldn’t ya have picked a better sort to celebrate yer freedom with last night? He’s another bloody demon hunter, isn’t he, Aran?”

It took me a moment to realize what my mother had wrongly concluded from my cozy breakfast scene with Rasmus. “Ma, I’m not sleeping with him. Rasmus and I are business partners—sort of. I’m helping locate a demon portal. Once I get Liam to help me find it, I’ll be halfway to shedding myself of him and his kind.”

Ma’s face wrinkled. “Didn’t ya hear? Liam’s nowhere to be found. Maura told me she hasn’t spoken to him in a month. That’s not typical, but since the boy has gone silent on her before, Maura hasn’t looked into it yet. She says Liam gets offended when she tracks him down. I swear, that boy doesn’t use his head for anything worthwhile.”

That “boy” was in his mid-thirties, but Liam missing was not good news. Now I had to track down Liam and extricate him from whatever mess he’d gotten into. I rubbed my forehead as dread washed over me. If Liam’s absence was connected to the demon infestation that killed the hunters Rasmus mentioned, I would have to get far more involved than I’d intended.

“Does Aunt Maura know his last whereabouts?”

“No, but she sent me with this. She said something told her ya might need it for scrying.” Ma dug into her tote and pulled out a stinky undershirt. “Liam dropped off his laundry at her house before he took off.”

I held both hands up in the air when I caught the smell. “Dear Goddess, that’s foul. I wish I had a bag to put it in. I don’t want to touch it.”

My mother rolled her eyes at my complaining. “He’s yer cousin, not the boy down the street ya thought had cooties.”

I grunted. “Liam probably does have cooties.”

Fiona finally reached us and frowned. “Gigi moves fast for someone her age.”

My mother turned to her granddaughter. “I move fast for someone yer age too.”

Fiona ignored her to look at me. “Did you already divorce Dad?”

“Yes, I did.” She sighed, and I reached out to hug her. I pulled my taller daughter close and held on as long as she let me. “Ya still have both yer parents, and we both love you, Fiona.”

“I know, but it’s not the same,” Fiona said, backing away from my hold on her. “Dad’s going to be here in five minutes. He texted me on the drive over here.”

I turned to glare at Rasmus, who hadn’t offered me a word of warning. His gaze dropping from mine said more than words, but I asked anyway.

“Did ya know this was happening, Rasmus?”

The stubborn arse went back to drinking his coffee offering no denial or explanation. My feelings got instantly hurt again. Why did I keep letting his actions disappoint me?

“I’ll not be forgetting this,” I told him, fisting both hands on my hips.

Ma yanked one of my hands free and shoved Liam’s nasty smelling shirt in it before grunting in disgust. “Demon hunters can’t be trusted, girl. How many more years is it going to take for ya to learn that lesson? Ya’re forty, for Goddess’s sake. Wise up.”

I sighed heavily at Ma’s chastisement. When Jack walked into the dining room, I closed my eyes and shook my head. So much for enjoying breakfast.

When I opened my eyes again, I glared at Jack, who was all smiles, thinking he’d outmaneuvered me.