On the twenty-fifth floor, the security door stood ajar. Gage yanked at the handle, but something had jammed it on the other side, keeping it from opening farther. Reaching for his cell phone, he tapped the flashlight app and stuck his arm through the door to look around. He couldn’t find what was holding the door cracked open.
Pulling in his arm, he saw that he had a single bar of reception. He started a call to Scotty, but just as fast, the bar disappeared. “Dammit.”
“Gage,” Anna called, “do you smell smoke?”
He did. He grabbed her hand and pulled her with him up the next set of stairs. She was gasping now, and he was tempted to swing her up over his shoulder. But he wanted to keep her on her feet for as long as he could. If she stayed moving, she’d be less likely to give in to shock or fear. He wrapped one arm around her waist. “Don’t talk. Take slow breaths. We’ll be fine.” The place stank of smoke now, and he wished he had a mask. The chemicals used in modern furniture making got pretty nasty when they were burned. Anna coughed and choked.
On the thirtieth floor, they stumbled through the door and Gage paused. The entire floor looked as if it was a reception room and one office. Coran Williams’s office, he’d guess. It made sense that the top guy would have the penthouse.
Anna moved to the walnut door, which stood open. She gasped, and Gage went to see what had started her.
The office was trashed. Not any normal kind of disarray—it had been torn apart. The door lock was broken, chairs were overturned, a sofa was ripped apart, and a laptop computer lay on the floor. Whatever had happened here, it had been a hell of a fight. Gage wished he had some clues to tell himwhothe fighters had been—and who had won. There was no sign of that, though Gage was pretty sure he knew where they had gone. The office boasted massive glass windows that opened onto a rooftop garden—and a helipad from which a chopper was rising and moving away. It wasn’t any model he recognized, but he didn’t know much about civilian aircraft.
Gage picked up the laptop, but Anna put a hand on his arm. “Now isn’t the time to clean up.”
He turned to face her. “Any idea what could have happened?”
Anna shook her head.
With the helo at a safe distance, Gage exited onto the rooftop and looked over the wall to the street below. “Looks like emergency response is here.”
Anna shivered and stepped close to him. “That helicopter—who do you think was in it?”
“I don’t know.” There was a lot about this situation that wasn’t making sense to him, but none of it seemed good. He didn’t even know if the building was still in danger. Whatever was going on, he’d need to figure it out soon.
Emergency staff reached them faster than he expected.Good crew, he thought. They reported that the incident had been contained and it was safe to use the elevators to evacuate. Anna rode down with a mask on her face and oxygen helping her breathe. Gage took the guys up on a mask, too. Saved him having to talk too much. On the street, he saw Scotty and Spencer discreetly signaling to ask if he needed backup. He shook his head—he needed them in reserve right now.
Once inside an ambulance, he let the medics check him out while a police officer asked him a few questions. He signed a waiver for nontransport—the last thing he needed was to waste time. Climbing out of the ambulance, he eased over to where Anna sat in another rig, also talking to the police. Her answers were vague, even more so than his had been. No, she didn’t know what had happened. Didn’t have any idea. He wondered whether she was telling the truth. She seemed sincere…but that could just mean she was a great actress.
He saw Marcella in another ambulance, sobbing and hyperventilating, the medics swapping looks and getting an injection ready. Linda was in another ambulance—and she didn’t look so good, strapped down to a gurney.
Movement caught his eye, and Gage looked over as Anna came toward him. “You cleared to go?” he asked.
She looked at him with wide eyes. Her white blouse was smudged, her face was ghostly pale, and her hair was no longer pulled back but hung tangled around her face. She looked great. She was alive and breathing and managed a shaky smile. She gestured to the cameras from all the news crews and then to hers, still in one hand. “I prefer to be on the other side.”
“What’s the plan?” he asked.
“I figured I’d head home.” She hugged her camera to her chest. “I…don’t know when we’ll be rescheduling the rest of the shoot.”
He rested a hand reassuringly on her arm. “That’s not important right now. But after getting through something like that, you gotta go out for steak. It’s a SEAL tradition. So…have dinner with me?” There were still answers he wanted from her—questions he needed to ask about Natalie and Nick. But above and beyond that, he realized, he wanted to spend more time with her. To make sure she was all right.
5
Anna insisted on going home before dinner. She wanted a bath—a long one. And she wanted some time to think.
What the hell had happened today?
They hadn’t been allowed back in the building. Firefighters and police were still searching to try to figure out what had happened. There was apparently considerable smoke damage, and they needed to determine whether the building was stable. Phrases like “terrorist bomb” had been floating around. Linda, Marcella, and several others were hospitalized, and no one had been able to reach Coran Williams.
Anna turned on the tap for more hot water. Her legs ached as if she’d run five miles, all of it vertical. She was definitely starting back at the gym next week. But why had this happened? If it had been just a fire, she might have thought it was an accident—bad wiring or something. But there had been some kind of hazard first, then an explosion,thena fire. That didn’t sound accidental at all. It sounded like they’d been attacked. But who would want to attack a publishing company? Coran Williams published fiction, a tiny bit of nonfiction, and not much more. Was this personal—someone with a grudge against Coran or one of the other employees? The more she thought about it, the more she believed that must be it.
Well, it was the police’s problem now. Though…did this mean she was out of a job? She couldn’t think about that. For the first time ever, her mother’s advice came in handy. When in doubt, put on your best dress and a brave face. No matter how you feel, never let them see that you’re scared.
Once she got out of the tub and did her hair, she pulled out a dress that matched her eyes. It came up high in front and low in back, hiding her network of scars. She painted some color back into her cheeks, then added diamond stud earrings, black heels, and a black clutch. A touch of Chanel No. 5 and she was ready to go.
Would she be allowed into the building tomorrow to get her things? She’d left her purse behind. If she couldn’t retrieve it, she’d need to call the credit card companies and see about new ID. Her head began to pound again. She needed some food, a drink, and to not think about this for a few hours.
She went outside to wait for Gage, who pulled up moments later. He got out of his truck and walked around to the passenger side to open the door for her. “You look fantastic,” he said. As he slipped back behind the wheel, he looked at her thoughtfully. “I know I mentioned steak—and you got all dressed up, so we can do that if you want, for sure. But I was thinking…” He glanced down at her shoes. “It’s a beautiful evening, and it seems wrong to spend it indoors. Would you be okay with the fish market instead?”