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I slide my shoes on, forgoing my socks completely. By the time I snatch my phone from the nightstand and look up, Gem is in a t-shirt and sweatpants, shoving her laptop into a backpack. She scurries to the dresser, grabbing a large yellow envelope and an ancient flip phone.
Gem gets the zipper of her backpack halfway around the top when her front door slams open. She snaps her attention to me, eyes wide, though her breathing is calm.
“Take this,” she orders in a whisper. “Don’t let anyone get it.”
I nod as she forces the backpack into my chest. She passes me a gun from her dresser and motions with her hand for me to stand by the window and get low. I frown at her, checking the mag and safety. I don’t want to accidentally shoot anyone. Footsteps thunder down the hallway.
She rolls her eyes at me. “Really?”
“Sorry,” I mouth.
At least I know she didn’t give me an empty gun. That wouldn’t help either of us. Clearly something is happening, but I’m struggling to catch up with her, so I don’t know what I should be doing.
Just standing here protecting her shit?
Or am I supposed to shoot someone?
Gem moves with the stealth of a predator, exactly what I imagine a trained killer would look like. She breezes from one side of the open bedroom door to the other, firing three shots in rapid succession.
Something big thumps against the floor.
She leans around the doorjamb, firing twice more.
“Grab him,” a man shouts.
“He’s dead,” another says.
“Kill her,” the first one growls.
The smell of smoke tickles my senses as I go on high alert. This is a fucking attack. Whoever it is broke into her apartment to fucking kill her. I don’t like that, not that there’s much I can do about it other than pull the trigger if someone comes into the bedroom.
She doesn’t give me that option.
Gem darts down the hall, a flurry of commotion following in her wake. I glance out the window, first searching the building across from us for movement. Then I unlock it, carefully hanging my head beyond the frame to check for a fire escape. It’s there. You just can’t see the rails and stairs unless you’ve already gotten onto the ledge.
I creep toward the door, pursuing her and the sound of a man’s grunt, then a single gunshot. I feel a bit like a damsel, floundering around as I wait for her to pop back up. But I need to know that she’s not hurt.
The lights flicker on and two guys sprint out the front door like the devil himself is on their heels. Gem turns toward me, a split lip, but no other signs of damage. She steps over three bodies on her way to the bedroom.
“We’ve got to go.” She pushes me toward the window, but stops, frowning when she sees it’s open.
“I checked the fire escape,” I explain. “It was empty a minute ago.”
Gem nods, climbing out with her gun still drawn. As she gets her footing, she glances left and right.
“Fuck. Hurry,” she snarls. “They lit the entire building on fire.”
I scramble out behind her, keeping my feet just above her head as we descend the ladder. Flames batter the second-story windows, and she speeds up.
“Be careful,” she warns.
“Pay attention,” I bark. “I’ll be fine.”
I mean, I might be in shock later, but for now? I’m fine.
Heat licks at my skin as I pass the window, and the faint sound of sirens reaches my ears as we hit the ground. She glances up, frowning at the back side of the building as if she’s waiting for someone.
Gem shakes her head and takes my hand, dragging me to the corner. She peers around the side for a second, then moves back and surveys the surrounding area.
