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I leaned back in my chair. The last thing I wanted was to put all the demon hunters on alert. I also didn’t want Jack to know I was working with Rasmus after all. Once I won him over, I wouldn’t let Rasmus communicate with anyone but me and Conn until the search was done.

The question was... how could I handle this without becoming the controlling magickal person Rasmus had accused me of being?

“Can ya kidnap Rasmus and make it look like a different demon did it? I’d prefer they didn’t think ya were one.”

Conn nearly choked on his last bite trying not to laugh. He finally swallowed, laughed, and then stared at me. “Are you serious?”

“Yes. I don’t want to be fighting off Jack and the others while I’m working with the man. We’ll leave a note that explains his absence. We have to make it good so they won’t look for him.”

“Like a fake threat?”

I nodded. “Can ya think of anything better?”

Conn snickered. “No. What do you want the note to say?”

My smile bloomed. “Stop trying to find the portal or yer hunter dies.”

Snickering, Conn nodded. “Maybe prison was good for you, Aran. You’re a lot more fun now.”

“No,” I said. “Prison was terrible. I missed seven years of everything. Women sexually peak in their thirties and I missed that too.”

“Witches don’t peak in their thirties, and that’s not true even of human women. I will not tell you how I know that, but you can trust my words.”

My smile was tight and disbelieving, but that was how it felt. “I feel like everyone went on without me. There’s a shock around every corner I turn.”

“That’s just the hurt talking. It’s only been a few days since you got out of your confinement. You’re still adjusting.”

Maybe Conn was right, but I still felt left out of my own life.

He reached over and patted my hand. “Jack was the only one who didn’t miss you. I wasn’t over here all the time, but Bridget and I visited several times a year. He lived like a single guy while you were gone. I still don’t know where he got all his money. Being a Marshal of demon hunters doesn’t pay enough to live the life he’s been living. That part remains a mystery to me.”

It was the same thing I’d thought when I heard about his fancy car, but then I felt like I was being jealous and petty. I hoped Fiona didn’t suspect anything shady was going on. She’d lost enough of her childhood illusions lately.

Finally, I asked the question that kept running through my mind. “Do ya think Jack is on the take?”

Conn shrugged. “Either he’s extorting people, blackmailing them, or he came into a large sum that he invested to tide him over while you were gone. I would say his insta-wealth came from somewhere other than work.”

I thought about it. “He didn’t sell The Dagda Stone because the bonding ceremony worked. Ma said nothing was missing from her belongings. Ya retrieved everything I owned of magickal value and tucked it away in storage. What could Jack have sold for that kind of money?”

Conn narrowed his gaze until it drilled into me. The answer was suddenly obvious.

“Maybe he sold you, Aran. Your witch powers are unique. You can call on your gods for help. And you have me.”

“I miss working for the Shadow Breakers, Conn. I miss Ireland. If Jack hadn’t insisted on coming to Salem, I would have happily worked for them forever.”

He nodded in understanding. “None of the Shadow Breakers ever believed you did anything wrong. You could ask them for more work over here.”

“Truly?”

Conn nodded. “Yes, truly. I looked them up when I lived with Bridget and went to explain your situation.”

The Shadow Breakers were an unofficial group back in Ireland that hired magickal help to solve magickal problems. I’d joined them to keep improving my skills, but ended up loving the challenges they gave me. When Jack made us move, I made myself forget them as much as I could so leaving them and work I loved wouldn’t be one more daily fight with my husband.

The mystery of Jack’s wealth gave a whole new spin to why he wanted me back in his life. Did someone pay Jack to get me out of the picture? Who would have done such a thing? And more importantly, why? I didn’t make enemies while I was in the Shadow Breakers. Or none that I knew. I’d all but stopped practicing before the demon hunters locked me up.

“So when are we kidnapping your ponytail guy?” Conn asked.

“Is it too late to do it today?”