“I thought I was alone. He apologized for scaring me, and then left.” She bit her lower lip and stared at him, obviously seeing that she’d told him something new. “Look, I’m not saying that I think he had anything to do with—”

“I’m just putting the pieces together, Red. No assumptions, no jumping to conclusions.”

She tried to read his notes. “Do you really think it’s arson?”

“Don’t know yet.”

“But you know what you’re leaning toward.”

“Most fires are not arson, and I still have to ask these questions. What did you do after Braden left?”

She scrubbed a hand over her face. “There was a light on downstairs. Tina and my mom are pretty anal about that, so I went down there to turn it off. The room is—was—an employee rest area.” She looked down at her clasped fingers. “And I was tired. Really tired. I found a big purple beanbag down there, looking so comfortable—” She looked at him and he knew both of them were remembering how many times he’d slept on a bag just like it, and why.

“I fell asleep,” she murmured. “And when I woke up—” She paused. Her breathing changed, quickened, and she closed her eyes tight.

Ah, hell. Again he got out of his chair and crouched by hers, covering her hands with one of his. “Breathe, Red.”

“I am.” But she was breathing so quickly she was going to hyperventilate. “Last night I remembered something about the first warehouse fire. About—When my dad—” She gulped air and gripped his fingers hard.

“Slower. Come on now, in and out.” He showed her with his own breath. “Nice and slow, see?”

“Oh, damn, it’s bad.” She clutched at his hands when she couldn’t catch air into her lungs.

Gently he pushed her head down to her knees, staring helplessly over her head while she relived the nightmare. Because of him. “Just keep breathing.”

“I know—I’m trying—I’m mixing up the fires now. Old and new. God. I’m sorry. This is so stupid. I feel so stupid.”

“Think of it this way. You’re alive. How stupid is that?” Because he couldn’t help himself, he stroked a hand down her slim, shaking back. “Can you tell me what you remember?”

“I remember standing there between you and Danny, and seeing the smoke. I remember running up the steps, screaming for my dad, then opening the basement door—” She closed her eyes and hugged herself tight. “The flames. I could hear him—” She couldn’t possibly get herself into a tighter ball, though she tried. “That’s all. There’s more but I can’t seem to get to it.”

He gritted his teeth. “The beam came down and hit you.”