Flames & Firehoses (Arsonist X Firefighter)

Chapter 15

"It's okay! It's just me!" Henry placated, when I squealed and closed my eyes to shield myself from my impending doom.

"Oh! Thank God!" I sighed, but relief didn't last longer than a few heartbeats. "Did you let him in?! It was a mistake!" I hissed at myself for telling the firefighter that the coast was clear, when it most certainly was not!

"Uh, no! I'm not letting a D.E.A. agent snoop around my house without a warrant!" Henry scoffed. "What do you think I am? The roll-over-and-die type or the roll-over-and-stand-up kind? What do you think I do, when I'm on fire?" he smirked.

"Hmm! You do a lot of things, when you're on fire!" I grinned wolfishly at him. "Do you think he saw Josh?" I wondered aloud.

"Probably," Henry shrugged. "I didn't have enough time to even close the garage door after Josh left, when Danny showed up."

"What did he say?! Why was he looking for me?!" I peppered the firefighter with questions that were nagging me since the agent's surprise visit.

"He just asked if I knew where you were and how you were doing. Normally, I wouldn't think twice about it; but, he didn't drive three-hundred sixty-five miles just to ask me that!" Henry snickered. "Then, he started questioning me - about what I was doing here and why I had bought this house and why I hadn't told him I was moving. It was like the Spanish Inquisition!"

"Goddamn it, Danny!" I fumed. "He must have driven by my apartment or had someone else do it.... Regardless of how he knows I'm no longer in L.A., he knows I'm on the run! In the last conversation he and I had, I gave him the impression that I was hunting down Joe and had a hunch that my asshole of a boss was part of a money laundering circle. If I'm safe from Joe, but gone - I'm guilty of something!" I spread my arms to the sides in defeat.

"Then...why did you tell me to come to your apartment over the phone?" Henry turned his head to the side in puzzlement.

"Because if Danny already knows I'm not there, he'll stay here and look for me," I stated grimly.

"Why would you want that?!" Henry exclaimed in shock. "We barely kept him from figuring out that you were a few yards away from him this whole time!"

"He did figure it out," I continued monotonously. "That's why I have to get out of here," I rationalized. "I...had a hiccup in my journey and accidentally left a clue. I don't know how much information can be deduced from it; but, accompanied by what I told him, I look like a flat-out liar and criminal!" I snorted.