Page 4 of James (Big Northwest #6)

CHAPTER FOUR

PHILLIP

T HIS WAS PART of the reason he didn’t mess with wild women. They were a fucking headache and chaos surrounded them.

Chaos like the group of men headed their way.

“ What ?” James’s face paled. “They’re here? Now ?”

“Here. Now.” He flipped the deadbolt on the door before taking her by the hand and striding toward the hall, dragging her behind him. “Is there another way out of here?”

“No.” James turned back to look at her door. “Only that one.”

“Then I guess we’re going to have to get creative.” He continued down the hall, heading for the single bedroom of the small unit. Pausing halfway back, he sniffed the air, looking from side to side. “Do you smell smoke?”

“I may have set a small fire in the bathroom.” James pointed to the towel shoved at the bottom of the door. “But I didn’t want to set the fire alarms off.”

He opened the door, stepping back as a billow of smoke poured out into the hall.

James lifted her forearm, pressing it under her nose. “What are you do?—”

“Buying us some time.” He swung the door on its hinges, using it to waft more of the smoke into the hall and toward the alarm fixed to the ceiling. “Did you burn everything here that can tie you back to your sisters?”

She nodded. “Everything except you.”

“I wouldn’t recommend taking me out just yet.” The alarm finally started to scream, setting off a chain reaction within the building. The place wasn’t terrible, but it had some age on it, so the walls were thin and poorly insulated enough he could hear the alarm in the apartment next door start to wail. “Not unless you want to handle everyone coming for you alone.”

He’d had every intention of walking away from James and her sisters. But then—right as he pulled into Shadow Pine to give them the bad news—he got a call from his assistant. They’d found information he couldn’t ignore.

So instead of telling the sisters he was walking away, he’d asked their permission to do whatever it took to bring James back—knowing full well he’d do it anyway.

Because if she stayed in Vegas it would be a bloodbath. One that would lead back to the sisters she’d worked so hard to protect. Ethically, he couldn’t turn his back on them. Personally, the thought of anyone putting their hands on James made his blood boil. Which of the two brought him back was a toss-up.

“How many are there?” There was only a hint of worry in her voice. The tiniest bit of fear woven between the venom taking up the forefront.

“Too many.” Leading her back to the front door, he peered through the peephole as her neighbors filtered out into the hall, clogging the path from the elevator and the stairwell. “Time to go.”

“But we can’t go. You said they were on their way up—” James let out a little yelp as he dragged her down the hall, keeping her hand tight in his.

“They are, but now they’ve got to figure out a way through everyone trying to get out.” He went to her bedroom and released her hand. “That will give us more time to climb down.”

“Climb down?” James’s eyes widened when he opened the window and kicked out the screen. “You want to climb down the side of the building?”

“Want to? No. But I’m not seeing any other options.” Leaning out, he surveyed the situation, gauging just how difficult their escape was going to be. “If you have a better idea, I’m all ears.”

“You’ll seriously climb out this window?” James sounded shocked.

“I’ve climbed out of worse.” He turned to where she stood. “Ready?”

Her blonde brows pinched. “Aren’t you worried I’ll fall?”

If it was anyone else, that would be an easy yes and they’d be fucked. Forced to go back the way he came and take their chances with whoever had found James first. But while he didn’t know the full story of what James and her sisters were, he knew enough to understand he was the one more likely to break a leg in the next few minutes. “No.”

Going back to the open window, Phillip shifted his weight, preparing to climb out. A strong hand grabbed his arm, stopping him.

“Let me go first. Just do what I do and you probably won’t fall.” James was out the window in a flash, her long body just as graceful scaling a building as it was dancing in a club.

Which was not what he needed to be remembering right now. Getting to the ground would be hard enough without a fucking erection getting in the way.

Following her out, he watched where she placed her hands and feet and did the same, inching his way along the small ledge, the brick of the building scuffing the leather toes of his shoes.

“Careful here.” James reached the corner where large squares of stone were inlaid between the bricks. “It will be easy to lose your grip.”

She was right.

He reached the point she indicated and started to slip, the rough texture peeling away the skin of his fingers as he fought for purchase. Her hand clamped onto his wrist, holding tight as she helped him around, supporting a shocking amount of his weight while still holding herself in place.

And damned if his dick didn’t try to perk up at the show of strength. The damn thing continued being a problem as he followed her along the other side, moving from window ledge to window ledge until they reached the top floor of the attached parking garage.

James was still at least six feet from the structure when she jumped, easily crossing the distance and landing in a perfect crouch. She straightened, reaching one hand for him. “Come on. We have to hurry. As soon as they get into my apartment they’ll know we climbed out.”

His job was normally relatively boring. Follow people around. Watch what they did. Report back to whoever wanted them investigated. A damsel in distress was an anomaly.

Especially a damsel like the one helping him from the building to the roof.

He’d come back to Vegas thinking James needed his help. That without him, she’d be as good as dead. If he wanted that to be true, he was going to have to seriously up his game.

Her hand stayed in his as they ran across the garage, heading for the ramp leading downward. They needed to get out of sight from the upper floor windows of the building they’d just escaped. Unfortunately, the fastest way to accomplish that was also going to bring them closer to the last place he’d seen their pursuers.

“Stay behind me.” Phillip slowed as they reached the cover of the next level down. “I’m assuming your car is in here?”

He hated that she was going to have to leave everything behind, but there was no alternative. Not if he was right about the men chasing her.

“It’s on the bottom level.” James kept her voice low. “Where’s your car?”

“Around the corner.” He tucked close to the wall running up the center of the building, scanning the space as they worked their way down. “We just have to get to it without being seen.”

James stopped and tugged her hand from his. “No. I have to get to it without being seen.” She slowly smirked. “You can walk right out of here with a smile on your face.”

He turned to her, angling a brow. “If even one of them saw me?—”

“If one of them saw you, they’ll remember a suspicious looking guy in an expensive suit.” She unfastened the buttons of his jacket then grabbed the lapels and shoved it down his arms. “They’re not looking for a resident who’d been on his way to the pool when the alarm went off.” James peeled away his top layer then went to work on his shirt, wiggling her brows. “This time you get to strip for me.”

He hesitated a second, but technically her plan was a decent one, so while she worked on his shirt, he got busy removing his pants. Pulling the fob to his rental car free, he passed it off. “Take this.”

James stuffed it into the pocket of her shorts. “Aren’t you worried I’ll leave?”

“Not as worried as I am about getting you the fuck out of here.” After quickly kicking off his shoes, he added his socks to the pile James was collecting, watching as she used his shirt to tie everything into a neat bundle. Once it was all together, she tucked it under his arm and looked him over, her eyes lingering on the scar sliced across his stomach. “Appendix?”

His hand automatically went to the spot that dictated so much of his life. So many of the choices he’d made. “Knife.”

James’s brows lifted. “Didn’t see that coming.”

“Me either.” He turned to peer over the divider as the sound of voices carried up. “We need to get moving.” He faced James. “You gonna be okay?”

Her lips curved. “Better than you’re gonna be, parading all those abs past my old lady neighbors.” She gave his stomach a little poke. “They’re going to try to lure you back to their apartments with promises of baked goods and board games.”

“I’ll do my best to resist.” He should already be halfway down the next ramp by now but was struggling to walk away. “Be careful. I don’t want to find out what your sisters will do to me if I don’t bring you back.”

James snorted out a little laugh, backing away. “I kinda do. But I’d rather stay alive.” She reached the half wall on the outside of the structure and hopped up onto it. “See ya soon.”

Then she jumped, disappearing from sight in a blur of blonde hair and tanned skin.

It took every ounce of strength he possessed not to run and look over the edge to make sure she was okay. Make sure she was safe.

There just wasn’t fucking time. All he could do was hold up his end of this plan and get through the crowd downstairs. After taking one final look at the spot she last was, he turned and jogged down the next portion of the ramp, slowing his steps as he reached the edge of the crowd gathered outside the garage entrance to the building.

As long as no one looked too closely, his black boxer briefs would pass for fitted trunks and most people would assume the bundle under his arm was a towel. He just couldn’t linger long enough for anyone to start asking questions.

Acting on his experience that if you looked like you were exactly where you were supposed to be, very few people questioned it, he lifted his chin, squared his shoulders and walked through the crowd. Most of the people around him were older and confused over what could have set the smoke alarm off. A few were pissed to be missing their dinnertime. A handful took the opportunity to socialize, clustering together to gossip about everyone else.

He’d almost made it to the walkway leading out when a tiny, gray-haired woman stepped right into his path. “Do you know why those alarms went off?”

He flashed her a smile. “Sorry, no. I was on my way to the pool when it happened.”

She peered at him through the glasses perched on her narrow nose. “You sure you weren’t rushing out of some lucky lady’s bed?”

He grinned, giving her a wink as he stepped around her. “Or that.”

Before she could ask any more questions, he hurried away, nearly colliding with one of the men he’d seen earlier running his direction at full speed. The other guy shoved him hard in the chest, forcing his feet into the grass.

“Watch out,” he growled as he continued running past, barely sparing Phillip’s almost naked state a glance before going back to scanning the crowd.

James was a fucking genius. Hopefully she was a safe genius. She’d proved herself more than capable climbing out of that building. But scaling a wall and dodging armed men were two completely different things.

Continuing on like he didn’t have a care in the world, Phillip rounded the curved sidewalk of the exit, continuing his casual strides until the noise of the chaos unfolding behind him started to fade. After a quick look back to make sure no one was following him or watching his escape, he picked up the pace, both to get to James and to cut down on the time his bare feet had to spend on the scalding heat of the concrete baking in the Nevada sun.

A barely clothed man would have been a huge attention getter anywhere else, but in Vegas it was normal enough no one seemed to notice him racing around the corner toward the spot where his rental was parked. As he closed in on the sedan, his stomach dropped.

James wasn’t there.

As if she sensed his approach, her head popped up from where she’d been ducked down behind the wheel, hiding from sight. Another smart move even if it nearly gave him a heart attack.

He reached the passenger side and yanked the handle, opening the door and falling into the seat, breathing a little easier at both their safety and the cool air blowing from the vents. “I think I burned the soles of my feet off.”

She shifted into drive and pulled away from the curb. “I’m guessing that means you don’t want to drive then.”

He brought one foot up, looking over the angry red skin. “I’ll pass.”

“Huh.” James turned at the next intersection, taking them away from her building without coming close enough anyone might see her or him inside. “You’re not as annoying as most men.”

He untied the bundle of his suit, fishing out the white undershirt and pulling it over his head. “I’ll take that as a compliment.” His socks went on next, just in case they had to make another run for it. “That’s twice now.”

James’s head snapped his way as he worked his wrinkled pants up his legs. “Twice?”

“Twice you’ve complimented me. When I came to the club you said I’d be a great break between regular customers.” He shot her a grin. “Because I’m so good looking.”

James snorted. “I never said you were good looking.”

“Didn’t have to.” Now that there wasn’t a group of men trying to hunt them down to distract him from how very fucking attracted to her he was, the situation he’d put himself in was front and center. Keeping distance between them would be imperative if he was going to come out of this thing unscathed. The best way to accomplish that? Piss her off. “The way you were rubbing all over my dick like a cat in heat said it all.”

“A cat in he—” James’s words trailed off as her eyes widened.

Just not on him.

Her hands gripped the wheel as she focused on the rearview mirror. “Hold on.”

It was the only warning he got before the whole car jolted, the impact sending them right into the center of a busy intersection.