Chapter 11
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Jump stopped the car about a block from the apartment complex. They couldn’t get closer. He’d tried, but the lot was closed and there were other people looking to get stuff from their apartments.
His buddies were there with him to help move stuff if he could get anything from his apartment. It wasn’t looking good. The area was totally roped off, and no one was being let in.
Blakely’s third-floor apartment looked like a huge black hole. The second story of that building was totally gutted. There was no way anything was recoverable from her place.
He moved to stand next to her and bumped her shoulder. “Hey, are you okay?”
She nodded. “Yeah, there wasn’t anything important in there, only a government ID that I can get a copy of.
” She glanced around then turned back to him and met his gaze.
“All of my paperwork is in a bank in a safe deposit box. That’s one of the only good things I learned from my dad.
Maybe it’s overkill, but I feared losing my paperwork. ”
Jump nodded. “Looks like a smart move now. I have my stuff in a lockbox that is fireproof. I got my passport and a few other things before we took off last night.”
“That was good.”
“Yeah.” He pointed to the building. “Not sure we’re going to be able to get in.” The guys joined them on the sidewalk. “You already know a few of the guys, but I’m going to introduce them again. Bang, Cy, T, and Foster.” Each guy shook her hand as he introduced them. They were his buddies.
A couple guys came walking over and he recognized them as SEALs from another team. He waved them over.
“Blakely, this is Flash, MacGyver, and Preacher. They work with me.”
Blakely smiled as she waved. “It’s nice to meet you. Did you come by to help?”
“We heard and were nearby. Thought we’d see if we could help.”
“Thank you. I appreciate you stopping by. I’m not sure if we’ll be able to get anything from my place.”
“Which one is yours?” Flash asked. Jump pointed to his apartment and Flash nodded. “That’s good, because whoever owns that one on the other side is screwed.”
“That’s me,” Blakely said.
“Wait, you?” Flash asked. “That’s your place?”
She nodded. “Yeah. It’s toast.”
“Shit, that sucks. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to be insensitive.”
“It’s okay. There wasn’t anything important in there. Just stuff.”
Preacher stepped closer. “There’s this store where you can get some good clothes that won’t cost you much.”
“I think Jump has already mentioned it. We’ll probably go by tomorrow or soon.”
“Good,” Preacher said.
Blakely shook her head. “I just can’t believe his did this.”
“Who did it?” Preacher asked.
Panic flashed over Blakely’s face and Jump wondered if he should ask the guys to change the subject. Blakely squared her shoulders. She was strong enough to face these questions.
Blakely blew out a breath. “Grayson. He found me. That’s when Jump stepped in and made Grayson leave. I guess he came back and set the fire.”
The guys were all gathered around her, serious looks on their faces. For a moment she thought they didn’t believe her.
“Jump, do you have someone looking into this guy?” Preacher asked.
“I know Tex is busy, so I was thinking of asking Thario.”
“You should send a note now. This guy seems dangerous,” Flash said.
“We’re lucky no one died,” Blakely said.
“Yeah, real lucky. It seems like he was trying to kill someone. The fire set in multiple areas seems like a lot.”
MacGyver nodded. “That’s a lot of rage you see right there. Whoever set that fire did so with a lot of anger in his heart.”
Blakely hated that Grayson had so much anger directed at her. Maybe she should have run instead of staying. Both actions were dangerous. Grayson would eventually find her, unless she took off.
Jump put his hand on her shoulder and leaned in. “The police are headed this way. Do you want to step away?”
She shook her head. “No. I’m going to have to talk to them, eventually.”
Her stomach clenched as the cops moved closer.
Maybe she should have taken Jump up on the offer to leave.
She wasn’t thrilled with the idea of talking to cops.
She’d never been thrilled with the idea of police.
From the time she was little, it had been hammered in her brain that police were bad news.
They were the enemy of The Faithful, which had been proven when the police had taken her from her family.
She’d been held up and shown as proof of how evil the police were.
She hadn’t ever told anyone that living with foster parents had actually been better than living with her parents.
They wouldn’t have believed her, and she probably would have been punished.
“Hello, I’m Officer Dooley and this is Officer Crane. Which apartments did you all live in?”
Jump stepped forward. “I’m the one who lived here. I was in three eleven.” Jump pointed to his apartment.
The officers nodded. “That one isn’t too bad,” Dooley said. “I think you’ll be able to recover some stuff.”
“I’m military. I don’t have any ordinances in there, of course, but I do have plenty of ammunition and a few guns.”
Dooley wrote something down. “Thank you for telling us. We’ll be careful in there.”
“It’s best to know. Also, it would be best if the place wasn’t cleared out by some random person.”
Dooley nodded. “Yeah, got that.”
Blakely thought about saying nothing. Eventually the police would come looking for her. The main fire had been started in her unit. The other fires, the ones in the stairwells, were fueled with stuff from her apartment.
Grayson had been showing his anger by trying to punish her. She’d gotten the message loud and clear. He would do something like this, burn down the place to show his anger. But how did she make the police understand?
“I live on the third floor. My apartment is the one that was destroyed.”
Dooley raised his eyebrows. “And your name?”
“Blakely Masters.”
“So were you in your apartment when the fire started?”
“No.”
“I think we need to take you to the station for questioning.”
Jump took her hand. “I don’t think that’s necessary. She was with me when the fire started.”
Dooley didn’t look happy about Jump’s interruption. His lips pinched tight, and he looked from her to Jump. “If this was arson, which that’s what they are calling it now, you’ll need to provide answers about your location. It would be best if you came willingly.”
“I can answer questions.”
“Not at the station,” Jump said. “There is no reason to take her there. She can answer questions here, or at the place where we are staying.”
“Where are you staying?” Dooley asked.
Jump pulled out his phone. “I’ll send you the address. Give me your number.”
She hated that Jump was involved in this. She didn’t want him to suffer because of her. She was about to speak up and tell Jump to stay out of it when the officer started speaking.
“Do you have any idea who could have set the fire?”
Years of conditioning and punishments to keep her mouth closed came back. Telling the police anything about The Faithful would put a target on her back. But there already was a target on her back and it was getting wider each passing day. Staying quiet would sign her death warrant.
“Grayson.”
Dooley rolled his hand like he needed more. But what more did she have? Grayson didn’t have a social security number or birth certificate. She knew his last name as Gold. She doubted the police could track him down because The Faithful taught their people how to stay untraceable.
“What is his last name?” Officer Crane asked.
“It’s Gold. But he doesn’t have a social security number or birth certificate. There wouldn’t be any trail of him.”
Dooley looked up from his notebook. “No documentation? So no driver’s license?”
She shook her head. “The cult is called The Faithful. We, well they, flew under the radar.”
Crane blew out a breath and shook his head. “How? Like how did they exist? Do you have a license?”
“I do.”
“How?” Dooley asked.
She hated that she had to divulge the worst things that had happened to her to a total stranger.
But telling them this would be the only way she could escape the blame for the fire.
If they didn’t believe her, she could end up with charges for arson.
She wasn’t rich, had no connections, and had been born into a cult.
They wouldn’t see her as innocent, and that wasn’t just the cult upbringing talking.
“I was lucky and was taken in by CPS when I was a kid. They got me a birth certificate and a social security number. By the time I made it back to my parents, I’d been documented.
When I left the cult, I could get a driver’s license and rent an apartment.
I’ve moved around, trying to stay hidden. But Grayson found me.”
“Why would he be searching for you?” Dooley asked.
Pressure built behind Blakely’s eyes and spread, leaving her dizzy.
How much should she tell? She’d already told them about her being in CPS custody.
The police had no reason to believe her because little of her story could be checked with facts.
The Faithful lived beyond facts. They lived where nothing in their lives could ever be tracked by the government.