Page 32 of Impressing Brett

“Let’s do that soon.”

“So… Whose apartment do you need access to? Is it a woman?”

I grin as I follow him. I’ve already given him the apartment number and floor. “It is.”

He glances at me with a brow raised. “Is it serious?”

“It is,” I repeat.

He grins. “Happy for you, man. I hope her apartment isn’t in too bad of shape. She’s on a high enough floor that it might be unscathed. The lower floors have more smoke damage.”

I follow him to the stairwell.

“We’ll have to climb. No electricity, and even if there were, I wouldn’t run that elevator today.”

“Good point.”

We take the stairs at a fast clip and step out onto the sixth floor in no time. I have Lacy’s keys, but Sanders has a master key for the building. He opens the door and steps inside.

I exhale, relieved to see no obvious damage.

“Looks like this is one of the lucky ones. Grab what you need.”

I hurry to Lacy’s closet, quickly find a suitcase, and start filling it. I’ve never been here before, so it takes me a few tries to locate her bras and panties in her dresser before grabbing skirts, blouses, and pumps from her closet.

Luckily, Sanders stays in the living room while I work, so he doesn’t notice me tucking the three dolls and a stuffed monkey in. I hit her bathroom next. There’s a makeup bag under the sink, and I fill it with most of the items on the vanity and a few things from the drawers. It’s hard to know if I got what she needs, but it will have to do.

After I zip up her suitcase, I find her computer bag and chargers in the kitchen. “Thank you for doing this for me, Sanders. Lacy really appreciates it. She’ll be glad to know her belongings aren’t damaged.”

“Yeah, waiting is the hardest part. We’re being overly cautious with this building. It seems to be structurally sound. We’ll start letting residents in a few at a time tomorrow, but there’s no electricity, so it’s not inhabitable.”

“Do you know what started the fire yet?”

“Arson.”

I wince. “Shit. That stinks. Any leads?”

“Not yet. Whoever did it knew what they were doing. They didn’t mean to burn the building down. They simply wanted to chase the residents out. That usually means they were planning a robbery. We haven’t definitively determined that yet, though. It’s a suspicion.”

I settle the computer bag on my shoulder, grab the suitcase, and follow Sanders back to the hallway. “I hope you get a lead soon. That’s unnerving.”

“Yeah. When we start escorting residents in, I expect we’ll eventually find an apartment that got hit hard. Someone with jewelry, drugs, or cash.”

“I don’t envy that job,” I respond as we descend the steps.

He glances at me, smirking. “You did several tours in some rather frightening war zones. All I have to do is put out fires and determine their causes.”

“Well, that’s behind me now.”

He chuckles. “From what I’ve heard, Black Blade Protection gets some pretty dangerous assignments from time to time.”

I shrug. He’s right. “I’ll stick to protection and finding bad guys if you put out the fires.”

“Deal.”

We reach the exit, and Sanders holds the door open. “I’m glad you’ve found a woman who will put up with you,” he jokes. “I’m looking forward to meeting her.”

“Thanks so much for doing this for us. And let me know if you hear any more about the cause of the fire or the motive.” It doesn’t sit well with me. I don’t mention Lacy’s problems in Indiana because that seems so far past farfetched. Sanders would think I had a screw loose if I proposed the possibility that two smarmy lawyers in Indiana might have started a fire to chase Lacy out of her building. It’s too ludicrous to ponder, so I keep my mouth shut. For now.

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