Chapter Two
Austin stared at the pictures on his phone, zooming in on the burn patterns he’d noticed at the bookstore fire.
There were three of them, all coming from the back corner of the bookstore, and they were too deliberate to be accidental.
Whoever had used the accelerant knew what they were doing and how fires behaved.
The scorch marks on the exterior wall showed the classic V-patterns of a fire moving, but they were too perfect and controlled in Austin’s opinion.
He’d seen enough accidental fires to know the difference. This wasn’t some electrical problem or a forgotten candle—candles didn’t belong in a bookstore, anyway. Someone had wanted Margaret’s bookstore to burn, and they’d known how to make it happen.
Austin rubbed his burning eyes. It was nearly eight PM, well past the end of his shift, but he couldn’t shake the image of Margaret’s face as she’d watched her store turn to ash. The official investigation would take days to conclude what Austin already knew, and by then the trail would be cold.
His phone buzzed with a text from West. How are you holding up? Rough call today.
It hadn’t really been, but West knew that Austin had taken it harder than usual. Austin typed back, Fine. Just thinking.
About the fire or about Caleb?
Austin scowled at his phone. What?
You kept looking at him. A lot. Even I noticed, and I’m not exactly known for my observational skills when it comes to romance.
Heat flushed up Austin’s neck. Had he been that obvious? He hadn’t thought he was. He seemed upset. It was professional concern.
Austin could almost hear the amusement in West’s next text.
Right. Professional concern. That’s why you asked me about him three times after you saw him at the tattoo shop last month.
Austin didn’t answer. West knew him too well, and there was no point in denying what they both knew was true.
There was something about Caleb that had caught Austin’s attention from the moment he’d first seen him, even though they hadn’t spoken to each other until today.
It wasn’t just his looks, although Austin couldn’t deny that he was good-looking.
He was also smart, caring, and passionate.
And today, Caleb had tried to hide his fear from Jonathan, no doubt so Jonathan wouldn’t worry. He’d been protecting his best friend, something Austin understood down to his bones because he’d give his life for West.
His phone vibrated again. Margaret’s at Mercy General for observation. Room 314.
Austin frowned. How do you know that? Even though she’d insisted she was fine at the scene, they’d transported her to the hospital, just in case, but they weren’t supposed to know which room she was in. It wasn’t their job.
Jonathan called. He and Caleb went to check on her.
Of course they had. They both knew Margaret, and in Caleb’s case, it wasn’t just as the owner of a local business. She was a shifter, like Caleb, and it was clear that he cared about their little community.
It was different for dragons. They were big and imposing, and a lot of shifters tended to stay away from them if they could, especially when some dragons gave them all a bad reputation, like Sal. He might be gone, but people knew what he’d done, and it reflected on other dragon shifters.
Austin grabbed his jacket and keys. Margaret deserved to know that someone was taking this seriously, even if that someone was just a firefighter with suspicions he couldn’t prove.
He’d already promised her he’d look into it, but maybe she could remember more now that a little time had passed.
Austin should visit her, too, if anything, to make sure she was doing okay—or at least that was what he told himself as he left the station.
The fact that Caleb was apparently with her had nothing to do with him driving to the hospital, really.
The hospital smelled like disinfectant, a familiar scent for Austin. He took the elevator to the third floor and followed the signs to room 314. The door was slightly open, and he could hear voices inside, which meant that Margaret wasn’t alone, just like he’d expected.
“The insurance should cover most of it,” Caleb was saying. “And I’ve already talked to the other business owners on the street. We’re organizing a fundraiser to help you get back on your feet.”
“You didn’t need to do that,” Margaret replied in a rough voice. “I have savings. I’ll manage.”
“Let us help,” Caleb said gently. “That’s what we’re here for.”
Austin knocked on the doorframe. “Hi. I’m Austin. I responded to the call at your bookstore today. I wanted to check on you.”
Margaret looked up from her hospital bed. She was a small woman, probably in her sixties, with silver hair and brown eyes that were still red from the fire. “I remember you.”
Austin stepped into the room. His gaze met Caleb’s. Caleb was sitting in the visitor’s chair, looking comfortable and familiar, like he’d been there for hours. Maybe he had been.
“I didn’t expect to see you here,” Caleb said. He sounded wary.
“I like to check on people after difficult calls,” Austin replied. He didn’t want Caleb to worry about his presence here. “How are you feeling, Margaret?” he asked as he turned to her.
“Like I’ve been breathing smoke for six hours,” Margaret said with a weak laugh. “But alive, thanks to you and your colleagues.”
Austin pulled up a second chair, positioning himself where he could see both Margaret and Caleb. Jonathan wasn’t anywhere to be seen, but maybe he’d gone home. Caleb had mentioned being a journalist, so he was probably here for answers, unlike his best friend.
“I’m glad you’re okay,” he told Margaret. “I’ve started looking into the fire, but I need information. Can you tell me anything about how the fire started? Did you notice anything unusual, maybe someone hanging around?”
Margaret frowned. “Nothing out of the ordinary. I closed the shop at seven, did my usual evening routine, and made sure the back door was locked. I live in the apartment upstairs, so I would’ve heard if someone had broken in.”
“What happened?” Austin asked.
“A neighbor called me and told me she saw smoke coming from the store.” Margaret shuddered. “It was so fast. I barely had time to get downstairs.”
Austin nodded. The speed of the fire’s spread fit with accelerant use. “How about recently? Did you notice anything weird in the past few days, maybe?”
Caleb leaned forward slightly. Austin wondered if he was just being a concerned friend or if he was taking mental notes the way Austin was.
“There was a man,” Margaret said, still frowning.
“Yesterday afternoon, maybe around four. He was standing across the street. I noticed him because he stayed there for maybe twenty minutes, not really doing anything, but he was on his phone and kept looking at his watch, so I thought he was waiting for someone.”
“Can you describe him?”
“Maybe around forty, white, average. He was wearing a hat so I couldn’t see his hair. There was nothing odd about him except that he was just standing there.”
Austin exchanged a glance with Caleb, who was frowning. “Did you see which direction he went when he left?” he asked Margaret.
“I have no idea. I got busy with a customer, and he was gone when I looked again. Do you think he might have had something to do with the fire?”
Austin couldn’t give Margaret false hope by implying the fire department was treating this as anything more than an accident for now, but he also couldn’t ignore the evidence his trained eye had spotted.
He didn’t want to give her false hope in case it didn’t go anywhere, but he wanted her to know he was taking this seriously.
“It’s a possibility,” Austin said carefully. “But, like I told you earlier, I’m not an investigator, just a firefighter.”
Caleb was watching Austin, and Austin had the uncomfortable feeling that the man was reading between the lines of what he was saying. He wasn’t sure he liked that.
“Margaret,” Caleb said, “Can you think of anyone who might want to hurt you?”
Margaret shook her head. “No, but I don’t think the fire had anything to do with me personally.”
Austin wanted to ask more, but a nurse appeared in the doorway. “I need to check your vitals and ask a few questions about your discharge paperwork,” she told Margaret.
Austin and Caleb stood. “I’ll check on you tomorrow, okay?” Caleb said. “And I’ll let you know about the fundraiser plans.”
“You’re a good boy, Caleb,” Margaret told him with a smile.
Austin followed Caleb out of the room. “You know her well,” he said, curious.
Caleb pressed the down button of the elevator. “Us shifters have to stick together.”
“You’re a journalist,” Austin said.
Caleb’s shoulders tensed slightly. “I’m not doing this because I want the story. I want to find out what’s going on so we can stop the arsonist.”
“I never said that wasn’t the case.”
The elevator arrived, and they stepped inside. Caleb was quiet, but only for a moment. “Four fires in two months, all local shifter businesses. That’s either a very unfortunate coincidence or something worth investigating.”
“Fire investigation is handled by specialists,” Austin said. “I’m just a firefighter.”
“Right. Well, thanks for checking on Margaret. It was thoughtful of you.”
The elevator reached the ground floor, and they walked toward the main entrance together. Outside, the evening air was cool and clean, and it felt good after being in the hospital for an hour.
“Can I ask you something?” Austin said as they paused near the parking garage entrance.
Caleb looked at him expectantly.
“Are you okay? After this afternoon, I mean. Panic attacks can be draining.”
Something changed in Caleb’s expression. “I’m fine. Thank you for asking. And for earlier. You didn’t have to help.”
“Yes, I did,” Austin said simply. “It’s what I do.”