Change of Heart - By S.E. Edwards Page 0,17

I look at him. Just who did I get myself involved with?

I have to be cautious. Right now, getting my stuff out of Rich’s apartment and getting away from him seems like a very good idea.

***

“All right,” he says finally. “You wait here. I’ll go inside, and—”

“Hell no!” I protest. “I’m going with you.”

He blinks at me in surprise. “Are you sure?”

I answer by taking off my seatbelt, opening the door, and getting out. I turn to face the car and tap my bare foot on the ground. “Well? Are you coming?”

Rich scrambles out and takes me by the shoulders. “Just because I think they’re gone, Penny,” he says as he pulls me into an alley, “doesn’t mean we can afford to take stupid risks. Simple precautions go a long way.”

He shoves me between the two buildings, then pokes his head out of the alleyway. He looks both ways, waits for a long time, then signals me to follow. “The coast is clear.”

I sniff. “I could have told you that.” As I try to walk past, he grabs my arm and holds me back.

“Really?” he asks, his tone mocking. “Could you also have told me about the man standing in the balcony of the six-story apartment building, smoking a cigarette?” He points up and across the street. “Or how about the jogger about to turn the corner… now?” I see a man in Spandex appear out of the blue. “Or the couple having an argument in the window just above us?” I turn and look up to find a blonde woman screaming at a man who looks close to tears. The window is closed. Not a sound filters out. “Things are not always as easy as they seem, Penny,” Rich notes.

“I guess,” I mutter, thrown sufficiently off-balance by his powers of observation and my lack thereof. “How did you see all that?”

“Two eyes and two ears, Penny.” He tugs at my earlobe in a way that, in any other circumstance, would be seen as flirtatious. “You were given them for a reason. Better start using them.”

“I’ll try,” I grumble, and follow Rich out onto the street.

We weave and duck our way over to his building, but when we get to the courtyard, he surprises me by turning to the side.

“Where are you going?” I ask. “The entrance is over there!”

He looks at me, shakes his head, and rolls his eyes. “Don’t you think that’s a little bit obvious?”

“Well, yeah, but how else…” I trail off as I catch on. “The fire ladder.”

“Bingo.”

“You want to climb up the fire ladder?”

“Of course. It’s the only safe path in.”

“Safe,” I repeat, dubious. The ladder looks to be in even worse repair from up close than it had from Rich’s car. Every joint is stained with rust. “How is that ladder, in any sense of the word, safe?”

“Well, for one, you can see all the way up.” Rich shields his eyes as he tilts his head to the sky. “That way, you know there aren’t going to be any nasty surprises waiting for you. And, two—wait.” He gives me a puzzled look. “You’re not afraid, are you?”

I scoff. “No!” Inside, I’m trembling.

My performance doesn’t fool Rich. “We climbed down this ladder last night,” he points out slowly. “And now you’re having reservations about going back up?”

“That was different!” I protest. “There was nowhere else for us to go. I was running on adrenaline!” And I didn’t realize just how decrepit the thing looked.

Rich shrugs. “Suit yourself.” He jumps up, grabs a hold of the upper rung, and pulls himself up. “You’re welcome to stay down here and keep watch.” He chuckles. “If you see anything, just yell. Or, don’t. We wouldn’t want you attracting any extra attention.” He puts a foot on the next rung, and his grey-blue eyes glimmer. “I just didn’t take you as the type to back down in a tight spot, that’s all.”

And without another word, he turns away and starts to climb. The ladder creaks against the side of the building every time he shifts his weight. It seems as if the decrepit ladder is going to peel away from the mortar at any moment.

I stand there, watching him climb. My anxiety about being left alone grows stronger every second. Suddenly, I realize that being by myself on enemy territory is highly discomforting.

I shake my head and mutter an oath. “Rich! Wait!”

He pauses, then looks down. A knowing smile plays on his lips. “Yesss?” he drags out, casually, as