His mind boggled, Shane kept his own gun leveled at the guy.
And then Keara—the crazy woman—walked over to the guy and took the gun away from him. Just like that. Shane’s jaw almost smacked the floor.
Keara turned to Shane. “Here. I don’t know how to tell if it’s loaded.”
He took three steps toward her and numbly removed the gun from her hand. His lips curled as he regarded the cheap Bersa, checked the chamber. Holy hell. Empty. He lifted his eyes to Keara, and then directed a stern glare at the kid.
“Are you really a cop?” Scott asked.
“You bet your ass I am,” Shane replied tightly, shoving the Bersa into his waistband then reholstering his Glock. “What the hell are you doing with this? Who are you? What is going on here?”
He looked at Keara. She should have been crumpled into a traumatized heap on the floor. Instead, she stood there beside Scott whoever, and she laid a hand on his shoulder and squeezed. In his entire life, Shane didn’t think he’d ever been so bewildered.
“We’ll tell you,” she said. “But you have to promise to take off your law enforcement hat and just be my…” She paused.
He waited.
“My…”
He shoved a hand through his hair.
“My friend,” she finally finished.
Whatever. They’d talk about that later.
“Fine,” he snapped. “Sit.”
She rolled her eyes but amusement tugged the corners of her mouth up. “Have a seat,” she said to Scott.
The kid looked terrified now. Sure, now his gun was gone. His unloaded gun. Shit. But Scott sat obediently in the arm chair.
“You too.” Keara sat, looked at Shane, and patted the couch cushion beside her. “Scott and I will tell you everything.”
Chapter Twenty-One
They had a big argument about what to do with Scott. Shane insisted she had to call the police. She didn’t want to. Well, part of her did. The stupid idiot could have killed her by driving her off the road that day. She wavered between spurts of anger and empathetic sorrow. She felt for him, she really did. But what he’d done wasn’t right. And perhaps he needed some kind of help.
So in the end she gave in and let Shane call the police. They came and took statements and took Scott away but she told them she didn’t want to press charges—she just wanted to make sure he got the help he needed.
It was nearly midnight by the time that was all done and she and Shane were alone. She eyed her broken door with disgust.
“You didn’t have to break the door down,” she said. “I had him calmed down and I knew there were no bullets in the gun.”
“Keara. Dammit. Don’t ever assume a gun isn’t loaded.” He walked toward her. “If you have some tools I’ll fix the door. For tonight.”
They found what he needed although he looked askance at her pink-handled hammer and screwdrivers. “They’re tools for women,” she said.
He just shook his head and went to work, and soon the door was fixed enough to be secure for the night. She’d likely still have to get someone to replace the whole thing tomorrow.
Shane set her tools on the kitchen counter and turned to face her. They shared a long, questioning look.
“What are you doing here, Shane?” she whispered, arms wrapped around herself, shoulders hunched.
He took a step toward her. “I…Jesus, Keara.” His eyes closed briefly and he stuck his hand into his hair, held the back of his head for a moment. “I can’t believe I got here just when that guy…”
“It was okay,” she said softly. She took a step toward him now. “I was dealing with it.”
He burned her with his gaze, eyes blazing blue. “Yeah. I guess you were.”
She shivered. “You still haven’t answered my question. And I don’t think it’s because you have ESP and knew that I was in danger, so you rushed here to rescue me.”
He smiled faintly. “Actually…”
Her lips parted. “No!”
He huffed. “Okay, I guess it’s not ESP, but it’s weird. Once I’d decided I was coming, it felt like it was an emergency. Like I had to get here as fast as possible. I broke the speed limit on the freeway.”
“Not you! An officer of the law?” Her teasing coaxed a small laugh from him.
“Yup.”
They stared at each other again. She tipped her head to the side and lifted an eyebrow.
He sighed. “I came to see you. To talk to you.”
“About…?”
His mouth tightened and his throat moved as he swallowed. Her body quivered in anticipation.
“I love you, Keara.”
Everything inside her went soft and shivery and her breath got stuck in her throat. Her eyes burned. Her mouth pouted.
He watched her with eyes full of hope and fear. She unwrapped her arms from around herself and stepped into Shane’s. He pulled her hard against him and the welcoming warmth and strength of him sent a flood of emotion through her so intense he had to hold her up. She threw her own arms around him and squeezed tight.
“I love you too,” she told his chest, her words muffled by his shirt. “I love you so much. I missed you so much.”
“Me too. That’s why I’m here. I want to be with you, Keara.” He tugged her hair so she had to lift her head and look at him. A wet spot spread on his shirt from her tears.
She nodded eagerly. “Oh, me too.” She gazed up at him. She’d been so lonely this week. Before going to Kilkenny she would never in a million years have thought of quitting her job. But she was thinking of it now. And it didn’t even bother her. “I want to come back. To Kilkenny.”
“You do?” His eyes widened. “Seriously?”
“Yes.”
“But I came here to tell you I’ll move to LA. Because your career is so important to you.”
She put
