“To find you! I thought you were in there!”
“Wait… you risked your life… for me? When you didn’t even know I was in there?”
“It’s my job,” I said coolly. I was feeling offended, no fuck offended, I was downright hurt, that after I’d just ran headfirst into a blazing building to find him, scared out of my mind that he could be hurt or worse, he pushed me away.
“How are we going to explain you being here?” he flustered, scratching his head.
“Seriously? Is that all you’re fucking bothered about? Either one of us could’ve died in there!”
“I know, I know. I’m sorry. I just… you’re not supposed to be here.”
“Then I’ll leave,” I spat acidly, reaching into my pocket for the car keys. For a moment, it seemed like he was going to let me. But when I reached the car, he grabbed my hand before I could reach the door handle.
“Don’t go. I’m sorry. I just…panicked. I’ll say I called you when the fire started. We’ll go from there.”
“I thought I could do this, Sawyer.”
“Wait… what are you saying?” he interrupted.
“I’m saying… all this is fucking with my head! I just ran into a burning building for fuck’s sake! I didn’t check out the area, I didn’t call for help, I didn’t do anything I should’ve done because all I could think about was YOU! Then I get out here… I see that you’re okay and my heart literally fucking aches to hold you, and you push me away in case someone sees us. Well DAMMIT Sawyer! I fucking LOVE you and I just don’t think I can keep hiding it!”
“Shit,” he mumbled. The sirens were getting louder, meaning people would be swarming around us soon. “Jake please… We’ll talk about this later. But stop thinking like that. I’ll give you everything you want. I promise you. Just…later.”
I couldn’t do anything but nod in agreement. Several firefighters jumped from their vehicle, shouting orders at one another as they ran towards the building. Another window blew, causing us both to duck instinctively. We were a good distance away from the house but the crackles of fire and the cracks of the house falling apart flooded the air. Looking behind me, I noticed two paramedics and a police officer approaching, so we started walking forwards, closing the distance.
“Officer,” I greeted.
“Can you tell us what happened here?”
Sawyer gave his version first. He was in the bathroom when he smelled burning and so went downstairs to check it out. Flames engulfed the main living room, quickly spreading to the dining room and into the hallway. Sawyer fled through the front door, immediately calling for help. He waited down at the bottom of the garden, only coming near the house again when he saw my car. Our paths must’ve crossed by mere seconds and I mentally scolded myself for not following a procedure that should’ve been fucking obvious and scanned the grounds before running inside.
After telling my side of the story, the version laced with mistruths, the officers agreed it was best we bring forward our travel plans and head out to LA sooner rather than later. The fire was still blazing when I was led to the back of an ambulance to have my leg checked out, and it wasn’t until then I remembered I’d been hurt. Thankfully, the wound was shallow and so when the paramedic recommended I get checked out at A&E, I refused. Getting Sawyer to safety was my immediate priority. We hadn’t heard from the fire officers yet but everything about this screamed arson to me.
“Come on,” I said to Sawyer. The flames were calming and it looked like the fire crew were finally gaining some control. “We need to check into a hotel, phone Claire and arrange a flight.”
“You don’t think this was an accident do you?” Sawyer’s face was pale. If this was a targeted attack, his life was in danger, and the severity of that was evident in his anxious expression.
“No. I don’t. But you’re safe, Sawyer. I will not leave you again.”
Chapter Thirteen
“Holy fuck, dude,” Matt said before taking a long drag of his cigarette. We were at Matt’s condo in LA. Everyone was here to discuss the fire and where we go from here. Jake’s suspicions were right. The police got in touch after the fire department had finished their investigations and they found traces of accelerant throughout the downstairs of the house. Whoever was making these threats was no longer considered to be an amateur. They were getting serious. It was still unclear what they wanted, but until we found out we were all on high alert.
“We’ve cancelled the dates for Australia,” Claire said. “We need to keep you guys on the down low until we find out who’s doing this.”
“Sooo… we’re staying here?”
“Yes. We’d like you all to stay here. It’s best if you’re all in one place until we’ve hired extra security.”
“No fucking way!” Kip piped up. “I’m not living with Matt.”
“Hey, dude! Come on, I get a shit ton of pussy passing through here. I’ll share!”
Kip rolled his eyes, clearly not happy. Neither was I, but after what happened back at The Lakes, I was willing to suffer Matt’s bullshit. I just hoped it wasn’t for too long.
“Claire’s right,” Jake interceded. “This is for your protection guys. It’s not ideal, I know, but it’s best to stick together right now.”
“And what about us?” Laurelin asked.
“It’s not you they’re targeting. We’ll arrange a rota for there to be members of security here at all times, but as for the rest of the staff, we have no reason to believe you’re in any danger.”
“And what if you’re wrong?”
“I’m not,” he said confidently. I love that side of Jake – when he’s all firm and masterful. Turns me the fuck on. “You’ll be in a hotel with the rest of us, and of course there’ll be security there too. We have everything under control here. The LAPD are working closely with us, so between us and them, you’re all in safe hands. A repeat of what happened to Sawyer’s home in the UK will not happen again.”