Jeff walked around to see for himself when a blast boomed so loud it shook the windows. He instinctively stepped closer to Victoria to shield her.
She looked up at him and grabbed his sleeve. “What was that?”
He clenched his jaw. “I’m guessing that was the security breach.” Jeff looked toward the elevators and listened closely for any secondary explosions. After a tense moment, he dared to look out his office window. His gut dropped at the sight, and he sagged against the windowsill.
“How bad is it?” Victoria joined him and groaned. “Oh, Jeff.”
He shook his head, staring at the shell of his beautiful convertible now covered in flames. It was used and old, but he had paid cash. A drive in that car invigorated him whenever he didn’t have time to skydive. He blinked and kicked at the wall underneath the window. That’d teach him to care about possessions...and to stop choosing the highest insurance deductible.
“Look! On the other side of that sedan.” Victoria tapped her finger against the glass. He followed her gaze and spotted Charlie crouched down with a walkie-talkie against his cheek. “I’m so relieved he’s okay.”
Jeff turned to her, focused. “I think it’s time to get out of here.”
“But the files,” she sputtered.
“The reboot is a little too convenient, isn’t it? I’m guessing your file is long gone now.” He led her across the department floor to a different set of stairs.
She let out a long breath. “You believe me.”
“I believe something is going on. I just don’t really understand what yet.”
She grabbed the stair railing and followed after him. “Where will we go? Your car—”
Jeff frowned but didn’t slow down. Surely an idea would come to him by the first floor. He pushed his legs to go faster. Adrenaline always helped clear his mind. Victoria let out a cry, and he jerked to a stop just as she slammed into his back. “Are you okay?”
“I think so. I was trying to keep up and missed a step.”
She straightened, and Jeff managed a quick look at her ankle. It seemed okay, but his gut twisted anyway. He was so focused on the anger from his car being blown up that he wasn’t being considerate. His mouth parted as an idea formed. “I know where we’re going.”
Once they reached the bottom stair, he turned to her. “You sure you’re okay?”
“I’m not going to let anything slow me down with that creep trying to find us. Where to?”
“I have a friend that lives near here.” His hands hovered over the exit sign on the door. “Stay close to me, okay?”
Victoria tapped his shoulder. “Jeff. Security cameras.”
“Then let’s hope our security breach friend isn’t watching right now.” Jeff glanced up briefly, then shoved the door open. Hints of dawn pushed back the darkness enough for Jeff to find his bearings. “We have about four blocks to go before we get to Drake’s place.”
“Drake?” she said breathlessly. “Who is Drake?”
Victoria raised her chin and pumped her arms to keep up, but her stride seemed more like a hobble.
“You’re limping.”
“I’m fine.”
Her jaw was clenched; she was most definitely not fine. “I wish we could afford to go slower.” He offered his arm. “Lean on me.”
Victoria bit her lip and shook her head, until her eyes darted to the office building behind them. She took a deep breath, hooked her arm around his biceps, and they pressed forward. Except, he could barely feel her weight on his arm. “Victoria, we won’t move faster unless you put your full weight on me.”
She grimaced but said nothing. She did, however, lean in closer to him, and he compensated for her slight pull with each step. “Drake is a pilot and a fellow skydiving instructor,” Jeff explained. “He does the camera work on all my jumps and vice versa. We used to be roommates until I got my own place.”
“Skydiving? Wow. You really are quite the outdoorsman, then.”
In a normal situation, Jeff would feel nothing but pride hearing Victoria speak about him in such a way. His identity and dreams all involved the outdoors. The day job was a necessity until he saved enough money, which brought his thoughts back to his car exploding. He’d worked so hard to pay cash for that car. Heat surged through his veins as the reality truly sank in; the fire at Victoria’s house couldn’t have been an accident either.
He led Victoria in a hurried limp across the property’s lawn and into the adjoining subdivision where shadows and large trees would keep them hidden.
* * *
Victoria gritted her teeth, trying to will away the searing pain that shot up her shin every time her heel made contact with the ground. If she just had a moment to rest, she was sure the pain would retreat. She tried not to lean too much onto Jeff, but the faster he walked, the more she had to press into his arm.
At least for a brief moment, it was a relief for him to understand the gravity of her situation. But that relief quickly faded with the understanding it was her fault his car was burned to a crisp. His face looked red, and his arm felt rock hard. The man was stressed to be sure, but mostly seemed angry.
Sirens reached her ears as a disorienting dizziness washed over her. She hadn’t realized she’d stopped until Jeff patted the arm she’d wrapped around his elbow. The man’s touch was unnerving even amid the circumstances.
“Are you okay?”
Victoria closed her eyes and shook her head. “I’ll be fine. It’s the second time in hours that I’ve heard fire trucks coming my way.”
“We might be dealing with a pyromaniac.”
“Do you think we should’ve stayed there and waited for the police?”
“If the circumstances were different, I’d say yes. I don’t like the thought of what could happen to you before then.” Jeff jutted his chin forward. “Except the more I think about it... I’d like to be sure they weren’t trying to set you up first.”
“Wait. What do you mean?”
Jeff rifled his left hand through his hair. “Think about it. First they cancel your security privileges—your whole account, really—and then they say there’s a security breach.” He glanced quickly at Victoria. “I’d feel a lot better if we could get that evidence in our hands.”
“You and me both.” She pulled out her smartphone from her purse. “It’s barely past five in the morning. I’ve got three hours before my FBI appointment.”
“Drake is going to kill me,” Jeff muttered. She leaned on him as they made their way up the driveway to the left side of a duplex. Jeff rang the doorbell. Headlights rounded the corner from the street leading to Earth Generators. Jeff saw it as well but reacted by pushing Victoria into the shadows with him. “Stay still,” he said.
The silver muscle car slowly went down the street. Victoria sagged. “It wasn’t the Range Rover.”
He nodded, but his eyes stayed focused on the car. “Yeah, but it looks familiar.”
Victoria narrowed her eyes. She was no car expert, but it seemed like April had a car like that. “You would know better than me if it’s April’s or not.”
He shifted his focus to Victoria. Their faces were way too close for comfort. He tilted his head like a confused puppy. “I didn’t say anything about April.” The porch light flipped on, saving her