Page 4

“What made it different?”

I thought for a long minute before answering. “In Ireland, there was always someone on the right side of the law to help ya find out what ya needed to know to get yer tasks done. When I initially joined their organization, I did so to get more training. I stayed because I realized I was doing something good with my powers. Isn’t doing good why ya served in the military?”

“Yes, I was driven to do something good for the world. Also, life for enlisted men was simple most of the time. As I advanced in rank, I discovered life for officers was the opposite. It was complicated and frequently wore me out with its politics. I applied for retirement first chance I got.”

I nodded again. “Have ya joined the Shadow Breakers? I never knew them to hire humans, but I only worked for them a few years.”

Colonel Benson smiled. “I haven’t joined yet, but they have asked me to create an east coast branch here in the States that will operate out of Salem.”

“That’s interesting. Are ya going to do it?” I asked.

Ben blew out a long breath he must have been holding. “The local police investigated those alleged werewolf kidnappings. They concluded it was a hoax and all the missing women were runaways—end of the mystery. Seventeen missing women between the ages of eighteen and twenty-five is a lot of women to suddenly disappear without any of them contacting their families. Some of those families want to hire private investigators. The Shadow Breakers rep pointed out how that would be money enough to do whatever was needed to resolve the mystery.”

I looked at a far-off spot in the yard while his words sunk in. Was I interested in getting some paying work that was magickal? Yes, I was, but not right now. I was still healing from all the trauma Jack had inflicted on me. Working in one of Salem’s many magick shops would be a saner, more peaceful choice for earning a living.

My ugly divorce had given me nightmares and caused me to stop trusting people. Rasmus hadn’t stayed long enough to give me any sweet dreams to replace them. Mulan was currently ignoring my attempts to call and text her. And Conn was avoiding me in his own special way.

The only good thing I had going in my life at the moment was that my daughter and I were finally mending our relationship. Did I want to get too busy to be part of Fiona’s life?

Jack had put Fiona into a demon sleep to get her out of the way and she still wasn’t over it. Both of us ended up traumatized by the things Jack did to us. I still hated that my weakness for sparing Jack had let that happen to her.

While I was still pondering, Fiona returned with two glasses of lemonade. Like the good hostess Ma had trained her granddaughter to be, she served Colonel Benson first.

She dropped into her true self when she turned to me. “I have online meetings with two of my teachers about what I can do to make up the tests I missed. Can we resume our training sessions later?”

I took my lemonade from her fingers and nodded. “Yer training’s on hold until we figure out what’s blocking ya. I’m going to work on finding us some help to figure it out.”

“Can I work with Mulan until then?”

That sort of training hadn’t crossed my mind at all, but it wasn’t a bad idea. Maybe Fiona would respond better to Mulan. “That’s a great idea. When the Wu Shaman answers my calls or texts me again, I’ll ask her for ya.”

“I’d ask her myself, but I noticed she and Conn are both distancing themselves from everyone. I assumed they needed privacy to work through things.”

“I’m sure whatever is happening with them will work out. Thanks for the cold drinks.”

Fiona nodded before returning to the house.

Ben’s face crinkled in concern as he watched Fiona walk away. “This isn’t a good time for you to be thinking about your future career, is it?

I sipped my lemonade and grinned around the glass. “There is no such thing as good timing in my life. A moment like this is the least chaotic things ever get.”

Ben turned to look at me. “Then I’ll get straight to the point. Are you interested in working for my branch of the Shadow Breakers? You’ll get a regular salary and hazard pay. The position comes with other benefits too.”

“Yer offer is tempting, but I don’t know if I want a full-time job yet. Plus, I’d have to talk to Conn about it. We’ve rented this house for an entire year so eventually I’ll become desperate for enough income to move out of it. I thought staying that long would give me enough time with Fiona to mend the damage Jack did to our mother-daughter relationship before I moved back to Ireland. I admit I was planning to talk to the Shadow Breakers when I got there.”

Ben grinned at me. “Their pay scale here in Salem could be just as rewarding for your wallet. And I also know they transfer contractors from group to group.”

My shoulders all but shrugged on their own. It was Conn’s fault that I wasn’t hungrier for work.

“I’m currently living off invested profits because Conn’s a financial wizard. That’s one perk of being truly immortal like he is. Ya can take centuries to gain experience in any enterprise ya choose.”

Ben’s eyebrow lifted as he stared at me. “I didn’t know immortality was a real thing for any being.”

“Consider it confirmed for ya then. Demons live forever in one form or another,” I said as I chuckled.

The concept of living for an extended number of years was a strange thing to drop into a conversation with a fellow human. I wasn’t immortal, though The Dagda had done a few things to extend my time. Whatever he’d done, it hadn’t slowed down my hair turning silver nor prevented how much slower I moved in the mornings. It would be just my bad luck to remain my frumpy forty self for the next fifty years.

“Are you tempted by the money at all?” Ben asked.