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Tears poured down my face. He’d come for me. Even after I kicked him out of my house and told him I didn’t want anything to do with him, he still saved me.
He settled us on the couch, holding me on his lap. Sirens blared in the distance, and the decibels grew stronger as the police approached the house.
I lifted my face, needing to look at him. He was wet from the rain, his inky hair slicked back from his handsome face. I never knew I could love anyone the way I loved Ben. “How did you know to come here? How did you get in?”
He ran his fingers lightly over the bruise forming on my right cheek. Like he was committing it to memory. “Dan called me while I was at the club. He had her real name and was on the way to arrest her. I checked with Venus, and she told me neither of you had shown up for work tonight. It was pretty easy to deduce that Aphrodite was making her move against you.”
The front door burst open. Police swarmed inside. Dan entered the house, his gun drawn. He spied us on the couch. “She okay?”
“Yep. The perp’s in the kitchen and will need an ambulance, but she’ll live,” Ben stated, nodding toward the kitchen with no remorse.
“We’ll need to get everybody’s statement. I hope like hell you all can corroborate your stories,” Dan replied, sternness in every line of the man’s body.
“I’ll do you one better, detective. I got the stalker’s whole diatribe on video,” Ben said, pulling out his cell phone.
Dan cracked a smile with a small laugh. “Get the fuck out, seriously?”
“Yep. And it’ll show, before I took the shot, that Susan Carmine was reaching for a gun with the intent to kill Moira,” Ben stated.
Dan laughed. “If you don’t fucking attend the police academy once your twenty is up, I might just stalk you myself until you cave. Well done.”
After that, my house was flooded with police. EMTs arrived and stabilized the prisoner first and got her ready for transport to the nearest emergency room. Then they checked on Tater before they left. They carried him on a stretcher into the living room so he could be near me. The pour guy was groggy and disoriented, but they said he’d likely be up and running just fine the following day. I was still going to call the vet in the morning and get him checked out.
When the police and EMTs finally cleared out of the house, Roman and the rest of Ben’s friends followed, leaving us alone for the first time since this morning.
“I’m sorry for everything I said this morning,” I murmured, still curled in his lap.
“Why did you?”
“I thought I was protecting you. I thought if I did it, then Aphrodite would have stopped. Because I couldn’t stand the thought of you being hurt.”
“Babe, look at me,” Ben murmured, the warmth of his voice like rays of sunshine.
Inhaling a deep breath, scared over what I might find, I lifted my gaze. “You came for me. I can’t believe you came for me.”
He frowned. “Don’t you realize it yet? I will always come for you. Always.”
“Why, Ben? I need to know why.” I searched his face for the answer, but I was too afraid to hope. What if I was wrong? What if he did it because of some duty to Evan? What if?
He brushed a lock of hair from my face. His eyes shone like blue topaz with everything he felt on display. “How’s this for starters? Because I love you, Moira.”
I sucked in a ragged breath. Tears filled my gaze. And wonder filled me. He loved me. “You really do.”
“Of course I do. Moira, you’re kind and giving, a total ball buster when it’s warranted, which I fucking love. You take care of everyone. And I’ve been going out of my mind today, worried I did something. Until I realized what I hadn’t done. So, I’m going to tell you I love you every day until it sinks in through that thick, stubborn skull of yours, and you believe it.”
“I’m so sorry I hurt you. I only did it because I love you. And I didn’t know if you could ever love me, but you do.” Happy tears trailed down my face. “I know you’ve got to leave. But I want you to know that I’ll be here waiting. Just don’t get killed, all right?” I gripped his shirt. “Do you hear me? I’m going to be really pissed off if you get yourself shot or blown up.”
“That’s not going to happen.”
“Look, I know you’re a total badass and all, but shit happens. You can’t tell me—”
He cupped my face. “Moira, I was going to wait to tell you this, but Roman has a position for me on base here at the Joint Base. I’m going to finish out my last two years here in Charleston. Most likely, I’ll be stateside for the remainder of my Navy career.”
“Really?” He was going to be here. I wasn’t going to have to watch him walk away and worry that I would never see him again. Was this really happening?
“Yeah. I’m getting a place on base and everything.”
“No. You’ll live here.” And that was the end of it. I wanted him here with me every night. I wanted to sleep beside him.
