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“Warn me?” Iris straightened.
“He’s coming. Protect yourself.” With that, Fiona winked from sight. Taking the ghost at her word, Iris jumped up from her chair and whirled, looking for a weapon. Her heart hammered in her chest, and the door opened just as her hand closed around the handle of a broom. She knew, before she even turned, who stood behind her. Cursing herself for not making sure the door was locked after Beatrice had left, Iris turned slowly.
“It’s cute that you think you can just up and start over without me. You’ll never be a success.” Warren sniffed. Iris studied him, noting he looked the worse for wear and gripped the broom tightly in her hands. Should she scream for Beatrice? However, noting the maniacal light in Warren’s eyes, Iris decided against it. She didn’t want to put her friend in any danger.
“I’ll be just fine without you,” Iris clarified, shifting her weight from foot to foot like a boxer, and waited for Warren’s next move. “What are you doing here, Warren? How can you travel internationally? Isn’t there a warrant out for your arrest?”
“I was already out of the country long before you called the cops on me,” Warren made a tsking noise with his mouth, slowly walking forward. Iris stepped back behind the dining table. “You shouldn’t have done that, you know. It’s your word against mine. And nobody’s going to believe a scam artist like yourself.”
“I’m not a scam artist. It’s you who is the liar,” Iris bit out, keeping her eyes on Warren. He’d stopped moving, turning to look at her shop.
“I don’t lie. I just…massage the truth a bit. Isn’t that what sales is about? You’re just selling a dream to somebody. It’s not hard to tell people what they want to hear. Don’t tell me you didn’t do the same. I heard your readings. It’s all the same, over and over. You’re loved. You’re missed. It’s such bullshit.” Warren’s laugh cracked. “You should have just let me be, Iris. Now you’ve got people coming after me? Digging into my accounts. I want my money back.”
“Excuse me?” Iris’s voice rose a notch. “You took my money. I want my money back. Have you gone completely off your rocker?”
“Not as of yesterday. My accounts have been emptied. And thank god I still track your location on your iPhone. You weren’t hard to find. So give it back, and we’ll call it even.” Warren advanced, rounding the table.
“I didn’t take it! I have no idea who has your, actually, my money. Probably the police. If you weren’t such a dick, maybe you wouldn’t be in this position,” Iris seethed. His hand was out, and she was too mad to stop the first blow, his palm cracking sharply across her cheek. She stumbled back, the pain ratcheting up her face, making her senses sharpen. No longer did she care about the money. This was about survival.
Tightening her hands on the broom, she angled it in front of her and backed up just as Warren launched. Grabbing her shoulders, he pinned her to the table, and she brought her knee up between his legs, just missing him as he twisted.
“Stupid bitch. I stayed with your ugly ass way too long. I never should have…”
Iris gasped as suddenly…he was just gone. It was as though someone had lifted him straight into the air, and she blinked in surprise as Warren flew through the air and smacked against the brick wall, landing in an awkward pile of splayed limbs. Iris gaped at Kane, who advanced and lifted Warren as though he weighed nothing. Once the man was back on his feet, Kane made quick work of him, landing punch after punch in the man’s face until blood splattered onto the freshly cleaned wood floors.
Realizing that Kane was in a blind rage, as he continued to pummel Warren, Iris jumped up and raced forward, wrapping her arms around Kane’s waist from behind.
“I’m safe. I’m safe. I’m safe,” Iris shouted over and over, trying to break through to Kane. Finally, as though her words just registered, Kane dropped his arms, and his shoulders slumped. His breath came in heavy pants, and Iris dared to peek around him to see Warren slumped on the floor, mumbling into his palms. Outside, police sirens wailed.
“Did he…” Kane bit out, refusing to look at her, and Iris realized just how on edge he still was.
“Kane…I’m okay. Look at me,” Iris whispered, coming to stand in front of him. She dared to reach up and touch his face, bringing his gaze to hers. His eyes heated.
“He hit you,” Kane said and made to move forward.
“No, no, you’ve done enough. I’m safe. Do you hear me? Tell me you hear me,” Iris begged, grabbing his arms to stop him from doing more destruction. Warren wasn’t worth it, of that much Iris was sure.
“I hear you,” Kane said, finally seeming to collapse in on himself. Iris wrapped her arms around him, and he brought his forehead to hers.
“I can’t…I just…lost it. He had his hands on you,” Kane murmured. “He hurt you. I can’t let people hurt you.”
“I’m okay. I promise you that I’m okay,” Iris whispered. “Thank you for saving me. I was scared, but you helped, okay? You saved me. I’m safe now.”
“Thank god,” Kane said.
“Well, now, that explains why Bubbles was acting up,” Beatrice said from the door, and Iris leaned around Kane to look at her. Bubbles darted inside the room and immediately came to Iris, stretching up to paw at her thigh. Iris scooped the cat up, surprised she was letting her hold her. “The Gardai are here.”
“You called the police?” Iris asked, her eyes widening as two men in uniform entered the store.
“Of course. Bubbles was having an absolute fit. I knew something had to be wrong. Better safe than sorry, no?” Beatrice sniffed at the crumbled man on the floor. “You made good work of him, Kane. I’m proud of you.”
“What’s going on?” Gracie’s voice sounded from the door, and Iris winced. It looked like they were about to have a party.
“Ma’am, we need you to answer some questions.” One of the officers approached her and introduced himself.
“His name is Warren Smith. He has a warrant out for his arrest in Boston, and he just assaulted me. Kane came in the door as I was being assaulted and pulled him off me.”
“Thank you. We’ll get him cuffed and taken in. We’d like to take a formal statement as soon as possible?” the officer asked as his partner spoke quietly to Warren and pulled out handcuffs.
