Page 385 of Cold Case, Warm Hearts

Now wasn’t the time to ask him and try to find out. Addie still wasn’t sure she wanted to know if he had. “Does your security here connect to the emergency system, or the company you bought it from?”

He shook his head. “I have an alarm for the door. It only alerts me if it’s disconnected or set off, nothing else.”

“Okay, so that’s a no on that.” She had to cough. The air was beginning to get thick. “Bathroom? Or a kitchen?”

“For what?”

“If we can wet some towels, we can tie them around our faces. So we’re not inhaling chemicals and smoke.” She remembered that, at least.

Maybe it was more that she’d seen so many episodes of that fire department TV show. Not that she watched it for the fire safety tips. There was way too much relationship drama for that.

“Oh.” His face fell. “That would be down the hall that’s on fire. I have waters, though.” He went to a cabinet under the coffee pot. Moving swiftly. Edgy. Still, there was familiarity even in those movements, coupled with the realization he was a man now—where before he’d been a boy who believed he was one.

When he opened the door, she realized it was a minifridge. “Here.”

She didn’t move.

“What?”

Since now wasn’t the time, Addie shook her head. “Nothing.”

She set the fire extinguisher spray down rather than holstering her gun. Still, he had to unscrew the lid for her so she could take a long drink. “Okay. That’s better. Now we…” Movement across the room caught her attention. “Jake.”

“What is…” He turned.

Moved in front of her.

Backed up, so Addie had to move as well.

Insects crawled through the vents. Poured into the room. Some took flight, filling the room with a buzz over the sound of flames burning the structure of the hallway.

Addie choked back the noise that wanted to emerge from her throat. She jumped up on the counter even though there wasn’t enough room to sit.

“We can’t…” Her mind blanked, and there was only terror. It licked with icy fingers at her spine and made her want to shake with fear. “Jake.” Everything in her wanted to pray. It was just like before. “Jake.”

“Easy.”

She had to swat away a fly. “He…”

Jacob spun around. “Look at me.”

She shook her head. Look at him? If she did that, she couldn’t see if any of the bugs were headed for them. She wouldn’t know if something was trying to crawl up her leg.

None of them were big enough to shoot. What did she have to fight them off with?

Memories of all manner of creeping and crawling creatures running up and down her skin stuck the air in her throat in a lump.

Addie coughed. “I swallowed one. I breathed one in.”

“No.” He shifted, and she realized he’d set his water down when he touched her cheeks. “He’s trying to scare us, that’s all.”

“It’s working.” She didn’t want to lose it. She wasn’t a scared kid anymore; she was a grown woman. An FBI agent. But that didn’t take the fear away.

Nothing did.

Jacob touched his forehead to hers. “You aren’t tied to a chair. You can move.”

She let go of the gun and clutched at the shirt on his sides. Hugged his elbows with her arms. Held on tight.

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