Page 48 of Her Irish Treasures
The man I was stuck with. Evidently, he hadn’t been a man at all.
“Warwick saidhewas in the city and that I had to be careful.” I swiped at my cheeks, determined not to break down. “Was he trying to warn me about Jonathan even then?”
Aidan’s baby blues darkened at my mention of the leprechaun’s name. “When did he warn you about him?”
“When Vivi went with me to find the bar. She was worried that I’d been roofied because I couldn’t remember how I’d gotten home. But the bar wasn’t there—only an old, falling down house. I thought I was going crazy, but then Warwick was there. He told me to come back that night and to be careful.”
“That’s one thing I’ve been meaning to ask you,mo stór,” Doran said. “How did you get intoShamrockedin the first place?”
“I accidentally found one of Warwick’s gold coins on the sidewalk in the snow. It was in my pocket.”
I couldn’t see Keane and Ivarr behind me, but I had the feeling they were all four looking at each other with the same suspicion as the glances Aidan and Doran shared. “What? He said he’d been leaving his coins all over town, hoping that I’d find one.”
Aidan snorted. “A leprechaun is never parted from his gold. I’d sooner believe that Doran gave up his gargoyle to shift into a pink unicorn than Warwick accidentally on purpose dropping a single coin for you to find.”
“I wouldna mind a pink unicorn,” Doran rumbled. “They have beautiful sharp horns on their heads.”
“Did Warwick say how long he’d been trying to reach you with his coins?” Ivarr asked.
The sick feeling increased in my stomach. “About five years. I thought it strange at the time because that’s how long I’d been married to Jonathan. But surely it was just a coincidence.”
Aidan dropped down into one of the chairs with another disgusted sound. “Did you ever wonder where the word conned came from,mo stór? Leprecon. He conned you. He conned us all.”
6
Ididn’t believe him.
Warwick hadn’t conned me. He couldn’t have. Not after he’d helped me, saved my life, and then participated in that decadent scene on top of his bar in his pub. That hadn’t been fake. It hadn’t been a lie.
I wanted to reach out to him and ask, but with all four guys watching me, I didn’t want them to leap to any conclusions. I sure wouldn’t be able to hide that I was talking to someone else, and the last thing I wanted was to imply that I trusted Warwick more than I trusted them.
I trusted all five of them. I didn’t believe for a moment that Warwick had anything to do with me being hurt in any way.
“I hope for the sake of your heart that the trust you’ve placed in Greenshanks isn’t misplaced.” Though the heavy skepticism in Doran’s tone told me he sided with Aidan. “You were marked, and much earlier than any of us suspected. A changeling has damaged your memories for years. That you were able to distance yourself from the creature and still manage to find the rest of the treasures and break my curse is nothing short of a miracle. Let’s eat first, but I’d like as much information on Jonathan Blake as we can find.”
“Agreed.” Keane rummaged through the bags of Chinese takeout and started passing containers around. “Give me a few minutes on a laptop and we’ll know what color underwear the gobshite’s wearing.”
Aidan helped me down off the table and I sat between him and Doran. A little numb. A little heartbroken. But also oddly relieved. I’d known something was wrong with the marriage. I hadn’t felt like myself in so long that coming to Vivi’s was like being reborn again. Finding parts of myself that I’d forgotten or had lain dormant in those years. Waiting for a little sunlight to blossom again.
I only partially listened as the guys filled Ivarr in on whatever equipment they’d sold to raise cash. Instead, I focused on the leprechaun.:Warwick?:
:Aye,mo stór? Are you needing me despite having the treasures at your beck and call?:
I had to be careful. If Aidan’s suspicions were right, then I didn’t want to accidentally betray us to Warwick. But I refused to believe he’d betray me. Not after what we’d been through.:What do you know about my ex-husband?:
I ate several bites of cashew chicken before he answered.
:There be restrictions placed upon me that I must abide, though it distresses me greatly.:His voice whispered through my head, trembling with anxiety and emotion.:You’re on the right track. Keep pushing for answers, Riann. That’s all I can say.:
Confirming that something fishy was up. But not necessarily something Warwick himself had done.:Aidan said Doran would sooner give up his gargoyle than you’d give up your gold.:
:Sometimes there be greater treasure than gold at stake. Remember what I told you last atShamrocked.:
You be treasure for me too.
I blinked fiercely, trying to keep my emotions under control.
:Hold on to that, love,:Warwick whispered.:Be wary. I cannot say more.:
