Chapter One #2
But Austin was here now. He was focused on Caleb, and Caleb was almost offended by his words. He wasn’t having a panic attack, dammit. “I’m fine,” he said. His voice sounded squeaky, but he tried to ignore it.
Austin arched a brow. “Are you?”
“Well, my best friend almost died in a fire a few months ago, but apart from that, yes, I’m fine.”
Austin winced. “Yeah, I’m sorry about that. That’s why I think you’re having a panic attack.”
“I’m not.”
“Sure.”
“Shouldn’t you be over there doing your job?”
“I am. I’m taking care of the public.”
“You’re a firefighter. You should take care of fires.”
Austin gestured at what remained of the bookstore. “We did. It’s not all we do, though. Do you need me to call the paramedics?”
Caleb shook his head. To his surprise, he felt better. His legs felt a little weak, and his lungs were tight, but he was breathing normally again. He wasn’t sure how it had happened. “I’m fine,” he said, and he almost sounded fine.
Austin didn’t look convinced, but he nodded. “All right.”
“I noticed you talking to the bookstore owner.” Caleb needed a distraction.
He didn’t want to focus on the fire from three months ago.
In fact, he didn’t want to focus on this fire, either, but doing that meant that he wasn’t worried about Jonathan.
It wasn’t like Jonathan was in danger, anyway.
He was talking to West, and he was perfectly fine.
Austin frowned. “You know her?”
“I know almost every store owner on the street. I’ve been spending a lot of time here since Jonathan opened his shop.”
The words felt normal coming out of Caleb’s mouth, but Caleb’s mind was racing.
He knew Margaret, the bookstore owner, and not just as a customer.
Margaret was a fox shifter, and her small bookstore specialized in books that often contained more than human customers would ever realize.
Those books were hidden in the backroom, and Caleb had spent a lot of time there.
Margaret had been one of the first to welcome Jonathan when he’d moved to this neighborhood, and Caleb had always been grateful for that because, as much as he loved Jonathan, he’d known he wouldn’t be able to help him on his own.
Margaret had done the same for other shifters, and now, her shop was gone.
Caleb’s chest tightened again, but this time it wasn’t panic.
It was anger. This was the fourth shifter-owned business to burn in the past two months.
The first had been a small restaurant owned by a bear shifter family.
The second was a jewelry store run by a raven shifter, while the third had been a coffee shop Caleb had loved that had been owned by a wolf shifter.
And now, Margaret’s bookstore.
The human authorities kept calling them unfortunate accidents, but Caleb knew better.
Four accidents in two months, all targeting businesses owned by shifters?
That wasn’t a coincidence, it was a pattern—but it was a pattern that the human authorities couldn’t see because they didn’t know about shifters.
“How is she?” Caleb asked, nodding toward where Margaret now sat wrapped in a blanket, talking to another firefighter. Even from here, he could see she was shaken but thankfully okay. She lived above the store, so it could have been much worse.
Austin’s expression softened. “She’ll be okay physically. She got out in time, thanks to a neighbor who smelled smoke. Lucky she wasn’t sleeping yet when it started.”
Caleb almost snorted at that. Margaret’s instincts had probably woken her before any human would’ve noticed the danger, but Austin couldn’t say that out loud where anyone could hear him. It was better for them not to discuss what they were here.
“Did she say how it started?” Caleb tried to keep his voice casual, but he needed to know. Had Margaret seen something? Maybe someone? No one had in the other fires, but he had hope. Whoever was doing this would slip eventually.
Austin hesitated. “These things take time to determine.”
“Right.” Caleb nodded because he could tell he wouldn’t get anything else from Austin.
He needed to talk to Margaret privately to find out what she’d seen or heard before the fire started.
He also needed to talk to the other shifter business owners in the area.
If someone was targeting them specifically, they all had to be more careful.
The smell of smoke was still heavy in the air. It clung to everything, and Caleb knew he’d need a shower once he got home. Every breath brought back flashes of three months ago, when he’d thought he’d lost Jonathan.
“You’re doing it again,” Austin said quietly.
Caleb blinked, realizing he’d been holding his breath. “Doing what?”
“The breathing thing. Look, I’ve seen this before. Trauma responses don’t just go away because time passes. Sometimes certain triggers—”
“I’m not traumatized,” Caleb cut him off. “Jonathan was the one who was in the fire. I just worry about him.”
Austin watched him for a moment, and Caleb had the uncomfortable feeling of being seen in a way very few people could. It didn’t make sense. He didn’t know Austin, and Austin didn’t know him.
“Caring about someone who’s been hurt can be its own kind of trauma,” Austin finally said. “Especially when you couldn’t do anything to help them.”
The words hit closer to home than Caleb wanted to admit. He had been helpless three months ago, and that had almost been worse than the fear. “You seem to know a lot about that,” he said, hoping to deflect attention from him. He was also curious, though. Austin spoke like someone who’d been there.
Austin’s jaw tightened almost imperceptibly. “Comes with the job. You see a lot of people dealing with loss and with situations they couldn’t control.”
“How are you doing?” Jonathan asked. West was still there, but both of them were watching Caleb now.
“Better,” Caleb said. It was true. The tight feeling in his chest had loosened, and his breathing was back to normal. “Austin was just telling me about trauma responses.”
Jonathan glanced between them, and Caleb caught a flicker of something that might have been amusement. “Was he?”
Jonathan would have questions once they were alone. Caleb could tell.
“West mentioned you two hadn’t officially met yet,” Jonathan said. “Which sounds impossible.”
“We haven’t, but I know who Austin is.”
Caleb turned to Austin, who nodded. “And I know who Caleb is. It’s good to meet you, although I wish it was in better circumstances.”
“Same. Thanks for... you know. The breathing thing.”
“Any time.”
Caleb suspected that Austin meant it. Like if Caleb ever needed help, Austin would be there. It was a strange thought to have about someone he’d just met, especially given everything he knew about dragon shifters.
Because Austin was a dragon shifter, just like West. Just like Sal, Jonathan’s ex.
The thought sent a familiar chill through Caleb. He’d watched Sal charm Jonathan until the charm turned to control and possession. Caleb had spent months helping Jonathan recover from that relationship and even longer trying to get him out of it.
But looking at Austin and seeing the genuine concern in his eyes, the way he’d approached Caleb’s panic attack, the careful way he spoke about trauma, Caleb found it hard to recognize what he knew about dragons in him.
West had certainly proved that not all dragons were like Sal.
Jonathan was happier than Caleb had seen him in years.
West treated Jonathan like a partner, not a fragile thing to be protected or controlled.
He loved him, something Sal had never felt.
Maybe Austin was cut from the same cloth.
Or maybe dragons were just very good at seeming like what you needed until it was too late to run. Caleb couldn’t be sure, which meant he’d keep an eye on them, just in case. He wouldn’t allow anyone else to hurt Jonathan.
“I should go check on Margaret,” Caleb said, needing some distance. “Make sure she has somewhere to stay tonight.”
“Good idea,” Jonathan said. “I’ll come with you.”
As they walked away, Caleb could feel Austin’s gaze on them. When he glanced back, Austin was still watching, almost like he was genuinely concerned about Caleb’s well-being. It was probably nothing, just professional courtesy from someone used to dealing with civilians in crisis.
But as they approached Margaret, Caleb couldn’t shake the feeling that this wasn’t the last time he’d find Austin confusing.
* * * *
“YOU KNOW THAT TAYLOR doesn’t want us to get too close to the witnesses,” Austin teased as he and West watched Jonathan and Caleb walk away.
West snorted. “Thankfully, he knows about Jonathan. I’d be in trouble if he didn’t.”
“How is he?” Because as much as Austin enjoyed teasing West, he was also worried about Jonathan. After what he’d gone through with the fire and his ex, this couldn’t be easy for him.
West sighed. “He said he’s fine, and he looks fine. I think he was more worried about Caleb than the fire itself.” The corners of West’s lips curled. “He said that he knew everything would be fine as soon as he saw me.”
Even though Austin desperately wanted to tease West about how sappy he sounded, he didn’t. He liked that his best friend had found love. He and Jonathan hadn’t had it easy, but they were together now, and that was all that mattered.
“Austin,” Taylor called out, startling Austin out of his thoughts.
He turned toward their captain. “Where do you need me?”
Taylor’s expression was serious. “Nowhere for now. I saw you talking to the shop owner, though, and unless I’m mistaken, West’s boyfriend is with her now.”
“I was just checking on him,” West quickly said.
Taylor shook his head. “I’m not going to reprimand you for talking to your boyfriend. I know what happened to him, and it’s fine. I’m more interested in the shop owner.”
Austin frowned. “Why?”
Taylor turned toward what remained of the bookstore. “I have no proof yet, but I believe this was arson.”