“Don’t die of smoke inhalation.”
His words were depressing, but she agreed. They needed to stay alive, which meant they had to stay in the apartment. Thesun was a few hours from coming up, and with the lights off, it was pitch black in the apartment.
“Sounds wise. I guess that means we stay in here.”
“Yeah, that’s what we have to do.”
She paced to the back of the apartment and glanced out. There wasn’t much to see. Jump moved to stand beside her and pushed the curtains aside.
“This sucks.”
Blakely nodded. “No way out this way.”
“No. I guess the third floor isn’t great for a fast escape. I knew I should have waited for another unit to open, but the last place I lived sucked and this was better.”
“Ouch. That sucks because with it on fire, it certainly isn’t better.”
Jump snorted a laugh, and she wished she could see his expression. Was he mad? He didn’t sound angry.
“I took the third floor because I thought it would be safer than the first or even the second. That it would give me protection against Grayson, but it didn’t. He still found me and found a way into my apartment.”
James turned to her, his eyebrows raised. “Tell me, what is this Grayson guy after?”
She drew in a slow breath, wondering if he would believe her. Would anyone believe her? It sounded ridiculous when she said it out loud.
“I’m not sure?—”
A loud knock at the door interrupted them. She breathed a sigh of relief. She would rather face Grayson than tell this man exactly why she’d been targeted and why the fire had been set.
CHAPTER THREE
The firemen arrived at just the right time. Before he left the building, he grabbed his passport, keys to his car, and a few other papers.
The fire was spreading fast, and he guessed they were the last out. Blakely clamored over the rail and onto the extended ladder with the help of the firemen.
Jump moved onto the ladder easily and moved fast, but not so fast that he ran over Blakely. He was thankful to see her on the ground. He had his phone, his passport, but not much else.
His personal Glock, his clothes, all his shit would probably be gone. It wasn’t worth getting upset over. He had content insurance, so at least he would get some money to replace the things the fire and smoke took.
With his feet on solid ground, they were led over to a waiting ambulance. The EMTs were there with oxygen.
“I’m okay,” Jump said.
“Sir, I have to insist you get some oxygen. We’ll let you walk if your blood oxygen level is high enough.”
He sat next to Blakely, who already had an oxygen mask on. She put her hand on his leg, giving it a good squeeze, sending a thrill straight through him.
“Aren’t we pathetic?”
His chuckle ended in coughing. He guessed he wasn’t doing as good as he thought.
“Speak for yourself.”
“At least I’m an exciting first date.”
More laughter bubbled up, which caused more coughing. The EMTs shot them both a nasty look. He raised his hands apologetically.
“Sorry.”
