On the other hand, Kyle wasn't dead, kidnapped, or beaten to a pulp. And neither was she.

She saw both doors of the Jeep opened. Kyle got out of the passenger side, looking sheepish. J.B. met him and moved in close, all but marching him to the house. They burst into the side entry.

J.B. dumped Kyle onto a chair at the kitchen table.

" Shelton stole your car?"

Zoe nodded. "The police are on the way."

"The police?" Kyle looked stricken-and bloody. The cuts on both his eye and lip had opened up. "What for?"

She stared at him, incredulous, her earlier moment of compassion deserting her. "Now, why do you think? Thanks a lot for staying to make sure I was okay, you weasel. I should have let you fall down the damn stairs."

"I was scared." He coughed, looking more irritated and insulted than scared. "I didn't know what the hell was going on-"

Zoe cut him off. "You didn't want to explain to me what you were doing here."

"That's not true! I was looking for you. I heard someone and thought it was you, but it turned out it was Shelton."

"You're lucky I gave up violence, Castellane. I don't believe a word you're saying."

J.B. walked over to her and silently lifted her hand, her dishcloth bandage not particularly effective. "You okay?" "Glass cut. The bullet didn't hit me. He shot over my head."

"What kind of gun?"

"He had it on his ankle. A.380, I think. I didn't get a good look. I was busy hitting the deck. You grabbed

Kyle making his getaway?" "He told me he panicked." "Yeah, right." "Come on, Zoe," Kyle said. "Cut me some slack. I was scared shitless. This bastard pushed me down the stairs, right into you-you were there. You saw him. He could have killed me."

"He could have killed both of us." But she knew some of her anger was at herself, not just him. As far as she was concerned, she'd acted like she'd never spent a day in law enforcement, never mind a decade. "Forget it. It's over."

"I know you could have stepped aside and let me fall all the way down the stairs, but you didn't, and you know why? Because you're good, Zoe. You're not an asshole like Shelton." Kyle tried smiling, but it obviously hurt. He touched two fingertips to his bleeding lip. "We're okay. That's what counts."

Zoe sighed. "Either you have very bad luck or some-thing's going on with you and Shelton that you haven't admitted yet. Well, now you can tell it to the police. How do you like that? Do you need some ice for that lip?"

Kyle shook his head.

J.B. peeled a couple of paper towels off a roll and handed them to Zoe. "I'll take a look around. Don't beat him up while I'm not looking."

"It wouldn't make me feel any better." He nodded. "I know." He drew his pistol, a 9 mm SIG Sauer. She was aware of how serious he was, the professional at work. She wasn't. Not here, not now. Not ever again. The realization hit her suddenly, hard. She saw now that she'd spent much of the past year disengaging from law enforcement, leaving behind that part of her life. She'd done her duty as best she could in Connecticut, but when she was finally fired, she was ready for it.

She just didn't know what came next.

Whatever had happened to him over the summer- whatever he'd had to do-J.B. still had the focus and the drive to do his job. As he moved into the front room, she could see that every fiber of him was tensed, committed to what he was doing. It didn't matter he was on vacation, or that he'd kissed her. Not at that moment.

"That guy," Kyle said, motioning toward J.B., managing a weak grin. "He's something, isn't he? The FBI stud. Bet the local cops are going to love finding a fed here."

"Kyle-"

"I didn't mean to leave you, Zoe. Honestly. I don't know, I thought Shelton was still sneaking around, and I figured if I ran and got help-"

"He was here when you arrived?"

Kyle stared down at the table.

"Damn. You slipped in here, didn't you? What were you doing, pawing around in the attic?"

"I didn't get that far." He still didn't look at her. He sounded almost contrite. "I was going up the attic stairs when I heard him. I didn't know who it was-I figured it was you or McGrath. I felt-" He broke off, and Zoe thought he might have sobbed. "I felt like such a lowlife. A weasel, like you said. I'm sorry."

"Did Shelton hear you?"

"Yeah. He must have. He yanked open the door and jerked me out like I was some kind of peeping Tom. Scared the hell out of me."

Zoe smiled and patted him on the shoulder with her uninjured hand. "Good."

He managed a smile. "You're a hard-ass, you know that? I thought getting fired might mellow you out, but no way."

"Oh, but you're wrong. If I'd been in top-cop form, kiddo, I'd have managed to break your fall, nail Teddy Shelton on the stairs and tie you both out on the rocks for the gulls to pick your bones clean."

"Come on. We're bigger than you."

"Size isn't everything."

He grinned at her, and she saw that he did, indeed, have a tear or two on his dark eyelashes. "Bet Special Agent J. B. McGrath would've kicked some ass. Man, I almost peed in my pants when he pulled over and hauled me into his goddamn Jeep."

Zoe laughed, although it wasn't easy to let go of her irritation with him. "How did he know something was wrong?"

"I don't know. Fed radar or something. I think he saw Shelton screaming out of here in your car. He asked if you were okay."

"You told him Teddy shot at me?"

"Yeah. He got all grim-looking. You cops." But he glanced nervously out the window when the Goose Harbor Police, the department Zoe's father had built, arrived. "Going to rat me out for trespassing?"

"No, of course not. That's a private matter."

"If Chris finds out-" "I'm not keeping secrets from my sister, Kyle."

J.B. returned from his cursory search of the house.He had his shield out, his gun holstered for when he greeted the locals. He glanced at Kyle. "Tell the police everything. No bullshit. Teddy Shelton shot at Zoe and stole her car. He's not a good guy."

Kyle licked his cut lip. "He could have killed her, but-"

"You shoot off a gun that way, anything can happen. I'm not arguing with you. I'm telling you what you need to do."

Kyle made a face but sank lower in his seat, and Zoe could see he was finally intimidated. It wasn't because J.B. was armed-it was his directness, his clarity of purpose.

She let the police in, including the acting chief, Donna Jacobs. "Nice homecoming," Donna said as she entered the kitchen. "Three break-ins in a row."

"I don't know if this one's related," Zoe said, then stopped herself. "I guess you'll figure that out." "How's your hand? Does it need medical attention?" "A Band-Aid, but they're here somewhere. I'll be fine. Thanks."

Zoe noticed that J.B. had backed off, letting Jacobs and her guys do their jobs. A deputy sat at the kitchen table and took Zoe's statement.

When the police finished, Acting Chief Jacobs gave Zoe a bit of simple advice. "Buy a lock for the porch door, get that wrist looked at and try to stay out of the line of fire. We'll let you know when we find your car."

"Thanks."

"And I'll be in touch with CID," Jacobs added. "They need to know what's going on."

When she left, Kyle seized the moment and slipped out with her. He'd given the police his corrected version of events. Zoe supposed now he wanted to get to Christina before her big sister did. Or maybe just get out of her house before he had to be alone with her and

J.B. again.

She sank onto a chair at the kitchen table. Her cut was throbbing now. She glanced at J.B., who'd given his own statement. Brief, unemotional, to the point. The professional. "I noticed Chief Jacobs didn't give you any advice," Zoe said.

"That's because I don't need any."

"If you're implying I went off half cocked-"