Chibs blinked. "You're going to need to repeat that, lass."
"Two members of the IRA beat my brother to death. So I killed them. When I saw your tattoo…" Aoife's teary eyes drifted down to Chib's left side toward the ink they both knew was there, and her eyes went wide. "Oh, my God, Chibs, you're bleeding." Chibs followed her gaze. His button down shirt was wet with blood. Aoife's expression cleared, she wiped the tears from her face, and her back straightened as she took charge of the situation. "Come on." She grabbed a clean kitchen towel. "Hold that on it." Chibs obediently applied pressure to the wound. She then pulled his right arm over her shoulders and put her arm around his back, careful not to touch his injured left side. She dragged him up the stairs at the back of the shop into a small apartment. Chibs registered that the place was in significant disarray, with boxes and packing materials strewn about. He did his best to keep his rubbery legs functioning until she pulled him through her bedroom and into a small bathroom decorated in greens and purples. She sat him on the closed toilet and set to work.
Aoife was efficient; Chibs had to give her that. She stripped his cut from him and tossed it over the shower curtain rail while Chibs fumbled with the buttons on his mechanic's shirt. She took over with the buttons and tossed the shirt in the shower, and before he could even protest that he'd do it himself, his blood-saturated undershirt was off. She leaned him back a little so she could get a good look at the knife wound. "It's not too deep, but it's a long slash. Keep pressure on it while I –" They both froze as they both heard sirens in the distance. "You stay here and don't take that towel off until I get back. Pressure on the wound, got it? I'll deal with the police. I just need to know one thing – were you here?"
Even with his head fuzzy, Chibs caught her drift. "Probably easier if I wasn't, lass."
"Then you're not here. I'll be back as quick as I can." She leaned to kiss his scarred cheek. He brought his right hand up to caress her face, and then he was pressing his lips to hers in a sweet, brief kiss.
She closed the door softly behind her and then hurried down the stairs. By the time the cop cars screeched up outside, she was standing at the door of the shop, pretending to bite nervously at her nails. Chief Unser approached as she opened the door. "You all right, ma'am?" he called out. "We got a report of shots fired.
"Oh, thank God someone called. A man came in and tried to rob me. He had a knife. I think I killed him when I shot him. He's over by the register." she answered with a quavering voice.
"It's all right, honey," Unser patted her on the hand. "Just step behind me while I check on him and make sure he didn't bring any friends. Oh, and take these," Unser glanced behind him to confirm Hale was occupied and handed over the book of poetry and roses. Unser had Aoife remain in the doorway while he checked the shop. He motioned her inside after he checked it. "Looks like he was alone, Miss…"
"McIntyre," Aoife finished for him.
Hale walked into the shop at that moment, and approached. "Excuse me, Miss McIntyre." Unser kept his voice low, but Aoife could still hear when he informed Hale, "We got one DB. Looks like the bastard tried to rob the wrong shop today. Rest of the shop's clear. Call the coroner. I'll take Miss McIntyre's statement." Unser turned back to Aoife with a reassuring smile. "I'm the Chief of Police, Wayne Unser. Is there somewhere you'd feel more comfortable talking? Away from the body?"
"We can go up to my apartment. It's upstairs." She led the chief on the same path she had brought Chibs on maybe 20 minutes before, giving the body a wide berth. Aoife carried the roses and book up with her, making sure to stomp and speak loudly so that Chibs would know they were in the apartment.
"Thanks, honey," the chief said as he ambled up the stairs to her little apartment. He settled in at the kitchen table.
Aoife needed a minute to mentally rewrite the incident and rehearse it while leaving out Chibs. She stalled. "I need some tea to calm my nerves. Can I make you something, Chief?"
"That'd be nice." Aoife put the kettle on and set the roses up in a vase. "I didn't know Rois wasn't still running the shop," Unser commented.
"My aunt has stage 4 lung cancer. She's been admitted to hospice."
"Oh, hell, I'm sorry. Let me know where and I'll send her some flowers."
Once the hot water was ready and tea bags had steeped, Aoife sat down at the kitchen table with the Chief and gave her statement. Keeping as close to the truth as she dared, she explained how she had been startled by a burglar. He had been momentarily distracted by a loud noise out on the street, and she had taken advantage of that moment to knee him in the balls and get to the gun her aunt had always kept in the office. When he pulled out a second knife, she shot him.
Chibs had heard the Chief and Aoife come upstairs, and he discovered that if he listened closely at the vent in the bathroom, he could hear them. He tried to lean over to listen, and ended up slumping to the floor, his back resting against the wall just next to the vent. Aoife was a storyteller, Chibs conceded. If he hadn't been there himself, he would have believed every line she was feeding the Chief.
The chief finished sipping his tea, and then he stood, closing his notebook. "Well, Miss McIntyre, this is one of the clearest cases of self-defense I've ever seen. If I need anything else from you, I'll call. You want a ride to the hospital to get those cuts on your arm looked at?" He offered.
Aoife had forgotten she was even injured. "Oh, no," she assured the chief. "They're just scratches. I've got everything I need to treat them here."
"We're probably going to be in the shop for a few more hours. Even once the coroner collects the body, the forensics team will need to release the scene, and then you'll need to have it cleaned." Unser pulled a business card from his breast pocket. "I recommend these folks." Aoife put the card on the counter. "I'm going to ask the boys to increase the number of patrols over the next few days. Maybe the boyfriend who dropped off the roses can stay here with you tonight, just to make sure you feel safe? Pity he wasn't here when that dirtbag broke in." The Chief winked at Aoife. "You can lock that door down to the shop while we're working. If you need anything, don't hesitate to call."
Aoife locked the door at the top of the steps and waited for the footfalls of the Chief to recede downstairs. She then opened the bathroom door and gasped at Chibs slumped against the wall.
He opened his eyes half-mast. "It's alright, lass. It was just more comfortable to sit here while you two talked," Chibs assured her sleepily. As a former medic, he knew full well that he wasn't in his right mind: he had to be in shock, the adrenaline had left his system, he hadn't eaten in hours, and he had lost a good bit of blood. But being in shock, it was hard to care. As Aoife helped him back up and began to clean the cut, he could smell the aroma of coffee that was infused in her hair and clothing, and he inhaled deeply, closing his eyes and smiling a little.
"You're in a good mood for a guy with a slash across his side," Aoife teased.
"Any man with you for a nurse would be in a good mood, darling," Chibs flirted lazily. He tried to look at her pretty face, and pitched forward.
"Whoa, there!" Aoife caught him. "You need to lie down while I finish this." She forced him to put his arms around her shoulders. Aoife managed to get him from the bathroom back into the bedroom, depositing him on the queen-size bed. She brought a towel in and put it under his left side.
"What're you doing, sweetheart? I need to get back to the garage," he mumbled, his eyes closing.
"You're not going anywhere right now, Chibs," she chided him. "I'll call the garage and let them know what happened, but you're staying here." She leaned over and again kissed his scarred cheek.
She pulled her cell phone out of her apron pocket and was ready to dial when Chibs drawled lazily, his eyes closed, "You kiss my scars."
"I do," she agreed. "Scars make us who we are."
"No woman has ever done that before. You're…special, Aoife." His voice trailed off as he passed out.